Red Darkness
by ChangeHeart
Summary: Though everything seemed to be at peace, it didn't last long. And, for Sigi Aurum, it was the reason why he and his sister were separated from their parents and sent to a different dimension. Now, while a new threat emerges, Sigi has to do what he can to find a way back to them. Or, will he choose the ones around him over his own personal desires? [SEQUEL TO COLORS OF DARKNESS]
1. Prologue

**A/N:**

 **We're finally back!**

 **So, after about six months, the sequel is done and written. With that being said, chapters will be consistently uploaded. If you would like to know the new schedule, go check my page for it.**

 **Now, when you're reading this, keep a few things in mind.**

 **First of all, this focuses mainly on the main OC, so don't expect as much romance or filler as the original. It's mainly about the story.**

 **Second, even though the CPUs are in this(spoiler, I guess?), they aren't exactly the same. Basically, just keep an open mind when reading.**

 **Last, if you hadn't noticed, this story is rated Mature. That means that there will be smut. This will be the only story I write with smut because I just don't like writing it but had decided to try it out. Anyways, just keep that in mind when reading this because I won't exactly warn you when it happens. Though, you should be able to figure out which chapter it is when it comes.**

 **There are also some other things I would like to address.**

 **First is that Author's Notes won't be in this story unless I have something important to say. Or, you could be reading this a few years later and this message could be irrelevant.**

 **Also, even though I'll be uploading consistently, I won't be writing over summer break because I need a break and I want to enjoy summer. It's not that I don't enjoy writing, it's more of I need some time off to enjoy doing more things over the summer and because I've had to start going to physical therapy. That being said, there should be a poll on my page now.**

 **Basically, if you want to submit any OCs to be put into their own story, they'll go onto the poll. Message me if you wish to submit one for the poll. The top three will have their own short stories of them, which I'll start writing after summer vacation ends. As of now, there are three OCs to vote on. One of which is mine. There will be more details on the actual poll if you're interested.**

 **Anyways, with all of that out of the way, it's good to be back and I hope you enjoy the sequel to Colors of Darkness. If you didn't read the original and are new, it's fine; you won't have to read the first to understand everything(if you didn't, you might want to skip the prologue). But, for those of you who did read Colors of Darkness, this story isn't nearly as long. But, I think you'll still enjoy it!**

 **With all of that said, you may commence reading!**

* * *

 **[Prologue]**

 **[Third Person]**

The girl sat curled in a ball, hugging her knees and crying while she heard the voices, the screams.

After what seemed like forever, a man kicked the door open. He was soon followed by several other men, the eldest person in the lead.

The elder stared into the girl's eyes, puffy and red from crying so much. Green strands of her hair partially covered her eyes.

The second the old man took a step forward, the girl scooted away.

The elder let out a sigh while the screams of the outside echoed into the room.

"Sir, we don't have time for this," a man stated. "We have to hurry before _she_ gets here!"

"I know..." The old man nodded, staring at the girl. "You'll be coming with us..."

"…" The girl shook her head, tears began to form once again in her eyes as the elder and his group slowly approached her.

"Please..." He begged. "Please... We need you..."

"N-No..." The girl shook her head faster. "No..."

The man stared at his elder leader. "Sir..."

"…" However, the old man refused to speak as his eyes remained locked with the girl's terrified eyes.

"N-No..." The girl's body began to tremble and the tears came faster while the men continued to approach her.

"Get her!"

"NO!"

*BOOM!*

* * *

 **[Silver]**

"…" I let out a sigh. "There goes my walk..."

 _Ah, so you noticed it, too?_

I nodded. "Yeah. How could I not feel something that powerful?"

 _Sometimes, you're not the brightest..._

I rolled my eyes and let the world around me become shaded by crimson. "Shut up..."

I snapped out several throwing knives and fired them all at a certain direction.

Even though time was slowed down, the figure that escaped the knives sped to hide somewhere else in a blink of an eye.

Before they reached their second point of cover, I Blinked towards the figure.

 _"Yami..."_

 _I know..._

Appearing in front of the figure, my arm was veiled in Darkness and a hand shot towards the figure.

The hand slammed the figure into the ground before throwing them high into the sky.

As the Darkness in my arm disappeared, I materialized a blade of golden light. The moment the figure began to fall, I transferred energy to my feet and lunged towards the figure.

*Shk!*

Reaching a plane close to mine, I drove my blade through the figure and stabbed them into the ground.

"Haaa..." I felt beads of sweat trickle down my forehead as time resumed, clearing the crimson shade.

The person stared back at me, a woman. However, I could only see her piercing scarlet eyes stare into my green eyes.

She wore a black mask and crimson robes.

I gritted my teeth as I felt myself beginning to shake. "Tell me why you're here or I'll kill you..."

"…" However, she remained silent.

 _Must've called your bluff._

 _"Probably..."_

Although I knew I was strong, I was an ant compared to this stranger. Even though I was simply locking eyes with her and had her pinned to the ground, she could easily overpower me.

She wasn't trying at all. In fact, she was toying with me.

"…" For a second, something flickered in her eyes. Then, she replied with a cool and calm voice. "Red..."

"…!" There was only one thing I thought of when she said that. However, I didn't have time to wonder what that meant.

She grabbed me by the wrist with her black gauntlet. Instantly, I felt myself beginning to lose strength as her grip tightened.

I was easily overpowered as she floated back to her feet, using her free arm to pull my blade out. As she floated back to her feet, she dragged me with her.

 _"Damnit!"_

 _Can I take over?_

 _"Didn't want to let it happen, but go for it..."_

 _Much love, buddy..._

I felt myself beginning to lose my consciousness as the Darkness's black flames cloaked me. Everything went blank.

* * *

 **[Third Person]**

"…" The woman watched as the man became cloaked in black flames, his eyes becoming ice blue.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?" Yami let out a laugh as it kicked free from the woman's grip, ripping off it's arm.

"Oh," Yami stared at the arm as it slowly began to regenerate in black flames. "Now that's a shame... I guess that really did cost an arm, huh?"

"Who are you?" The woman asked.

Yami returned it's attention to her. "Oh hey! You actually said something! I was starting to think you were a mute!"

"Answer the question, now," she demanded sternly.

"What happens if I don't answer the question?" Yami asked. "What are you going to do? Kill me?"

Letting out a sigh, the woman's eyes suddenly began to glow gold. "Die..."

"Oh? You're actually going to fight back? Interesting..." Yami chuckled. "It's too bad you can't kill m—"

*BOOM!*

Before Yami could finish it's statement, it was suddenly smashed into the ground with the woman's cold, steel gauntlets.

"…!" The woman picked Yami up to the air, only to jump away at the black flames.

"…" She stared at the area at which the black flames had touched, nothing was left there; it had been burned away.

"Strange... To think that you could actually touch me..." Yami waved it's arms, creating a set of black energy spheres in front of it. "What are you? You sorta give off this vibe that you're like me. Are you another me that the author wrote about?"

"It doesn't matter what I am..." She dodged the questioned with her words. "You'll die here..."

"I'd like to see you try..." Yami taunted.

"Really?" A laugh escaped her mouth. "Don't you know that I haven't even been using a fraction of my power yet? At most, this is just a percentage..."

Yami howled with laughter. "Wow, you sound like every villain! But, to be honest, the same goes for me!"

"Then how about I give you a taste of my power?" The woman asked. "I'm sure you'd love to see it..."

"Alright. Then I'll show you a bit of mine, too..." Yami's eyes flickered with excitement and all of the energy spheres sped towards the woman.

While the spheres kept the woman busy, Yami materialized behind her and cast out a barrage of black flames.

*BOOM!*

The area was suddenly blown into smithereens as all of Yami's balls suddenly blew up, catching the woman in the blast.

As the vaporizing energy faded, Yami materialized at the edge of the gigantic crater that had been it's doing. Yami let out a low whistle. "Silver won't be too happy about this..."

"No, he won't..."

*CRASH!*

Without having the time to spin to the target, Yami found a powerful strike to it's body smash it down into the crater. Kicking away the rubble, Yami looked up to see the woman, perfectly fine and still calm.

"I have to say that I am impressed..." Yami said. "I didn't use much power on you, but that usually kills anyone. How'd you do it? Smokescreens? Mirrors? A How-To book? What's your secret?"

"It's simple," she replied. "Like you said, I'm not using my full power..."

"I figured," Yami massaged at the part of it's body that had been hit. "Well, I'm getting tired of this. So, how about I end this for the both of us?"

The woman's golden eyes glimmered through the narrow eye slits while she stared down at it. "Try me..."

"Alright... Don't say I didn't warn you though..." Yami began to stretch out it's body. "Though, Silver might give me one of those boring lectures that Histoire gives Neptune..."

*HSHH!*

Bursting into golden light, the woman watched in amazement as golden energy circled around Yami. While she watched, a crimson energy erupted from it and beamed up into the skies.

"What is this...?" The woman could only stare in wonder at Yami's transformation.

The golden energy was soon joined by crimson lightning and it began to cloak Yami.

The ground began to tremor violently and lava erupted from the depths of the land.

"GRAHHH!"

The woman was blinded by the bright glow of light that burst from Yami.

"…" The woman removed her shielding arm as the light and destruction of the land around slowly subsided. She stared at Yami.

"Ready?" Yami's glowing white eyes stared up at the woman.

"…" The woman inspected Yami's new look.

Not only had it's eyes changed, but it's pitch black body was now covered with glowing red markings. Over that, it wore a set of golden energy armor and it's body radiated a fiery black and crimson aura.

"What do you think?" Yami asked. "Wanna fight now? You have to make this interesting though. We can't have this story end on the prologue chapter!"

"…" The woman simply didn't respond. Instead she rushed down towards Yami.

"Alright, here we go!" Yami took a stance and pulled back a fist, gathering red energy into it.

In a second, the woman appeared in front of Yami, staring into it's eyes. Time slowed down as the woman's hand reached towards Yami.

"HAAH!"

*BOOM!*

Yami's fist smashed into the woman's mask, breaking it and sending her plummeting deep into the ground.

"Ah, props to you..." Yami stared as the woman broke through the ground and crawled up to her feet. Her mask was still intact, only it was now cracked and bits of it had chipped off.

"I didn't think you would survive that..." Yami stared at the woman. She panted heavily and her golden eyes glared into Yami's.

"This isn't over...!" She snarled.

In a red flash, the woman disappeared, leaving Yami standing alone in the destroyed battlefield. "Well, that was interesting... Better let Silver take over..."

* * *

 **[Silver]**

I let out a sigh and blinked as my awareness came back.

Figuring out my surroundings, I let out a groan. "God... damnit...Yami..."

 _I'm sorry. She was asking for it. Plus, she wasn't as weak as everyone else. She could actually touch me!_

 _"I know... She definitely wasn't like anyone else... Not at all..."_

 _So, what now?_

I let out a sigh. _"You know it as well as I do. Peace doesn't last forever..."_

I pulled out my phone and dialed Nepgear.

Her voice came onto the phone a second later. "Silver?! What was that tremor earlier? Everybody is panicking about it!"

I let out a sigh. "Good to see you, too. How are the kids?"

Nepgear moaned. "The tremor scared them!"

I pursed my lips. "Well, you can thank Yami for that..."

 _Wow. Thanks, pal._

"Silver, what's going on!?" Nepgear asked.

I nodded. "Do you remember that dimension that Histoire found out about a few years ago?"

"H-Huh? Do you mean Red Dimension?" Nepgear questioned.

"Yup, that's the one," I confirmed.

"What does that have to do with this?" Nepgear continued asking.

"Send the kids there and tell Jewel she's going, too," I instructed. "It's our best bet at keeping them safe from this new threat."

"N-New threat?!" I heard Nepgear gasp. "W-What is it?! Is Kurome back?! Arfoire!? Rei Ryghts!? ASIC!?"

I shook my head. "No, a new one. This woman has powers that could easily defeat all the CPUs and Gold Third combined. Whoever she is, she certainly poses a threat. Even Yami had some trouble with her."

"But Yami can't be touched," Nepgear muttered.

"I know," I agreed. "Listen, get the kids to Red Dimension. I'm going to get Tolise and Hikan; we're going to go search for her."

"…" For a second Nepgear went silent. I could only hear her quiet breaths. "Silver, are you sure about this?"

"You know that I only care about keeping you and everyone else that I love safe..." I answered. "Please, the kids can't die. I don't want to separate from them either, but we've got to keep them safe."

"What about Hikan and Blanc's daughter?" Nepgear questioned. "What about her?"

"I'm sure they'll know what to do," I answered. "We have to hurry, Nepgear."

Hearing a gulp, Nepgear responded. "A-Alright. As long as the kids are safe..."

I nodded. "Thanks..."

I clicked the phone and put it away, staring up at the sky.

"Sigi, Luna... good luck..."


	2. Chapter 1

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd liek to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 1]**

 **[Sigi]**

I'm Sigi Aurum, one of those kids that don't remember their parents because I was only with them for the first four years of my life. My sister, Luna, also can't remember them because she had just been born when we left.

And what did I mean when I said that we left?

Simply that our parents sent us off to this world to protect us. Now, we live with our godmother, Jewel.

I've lived here for around 15 years. Now, I'm at the age of 19, living with my 15-year-old little sister.

This place that I live in is called Rouge. It's the capital city of this gigantic nation. For school, I attend to the Academy of Hades. Ever since I was six, I've been enrolled in that school. Though, it wasn't like every other school.

"Hey! Sigi, stop talking to the readers!" My childhood best friend whined. "I thought we came here to have some fun!"

I let out a sigh. "Sorry, sorry..."

I stared at her. She was sitting on a tree stump, her violet eyes stared into my brown eyes.

She had long lilac hair with messy bangs and a pair of black D-pad hair clips.

She wore a one-piece black hoodie dress with violet highlights and two big black pockets; she also had a matching gun holster strapped to her left thigh and wore calf-high black boots, accented purple.

It was also worth noting that she wore a black choker and a matching bangle on her left wrist.

Thinking back, her black clothes used to be white.

"Sigi! Stop talking to the readers and say my name already!" She continued to whine.

I let out a laugh and stared at her pouting face. "Sorry, Neptune. I was just trying to get the boring stuff out of the way so that we could talk about the interesting stuff."

"Oh! You mean like those times we had sex?" Neptune asked.

I facepalmed and let out a groan. "Neptune, that has yet to happen. Don't joke about that, please..."

Neptune let out a laugh and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry, sorry!"

The day I enrolled into the Academy of Hades was also the day Neptune enrolled too. Back then, she was shorter, less developed and wore white instead of black.

As we grew up together and became best friends, her colors changed. Currently, we were on break and had a week left before we had to go back to the academy.

"So, Sigi," Neptune ran over to me, smiling. "You ready for the new school year?"

I nodded. "Of course am I!"

Neptune's grin grew wider. "Does that mean you're going to attend this year?"

A smirk crossed my face. "Yeah, I'll definitely be in the Hades Tournament this year."

The Hades Tournament was an event that the Academy of Hades held every two years at the end of the school year. This was one of the biggest events of Rouge. Anyone could attend and many people from other dimensions came to see it.

The reason why many people attended the tournament, like me, was because the winner of the tournament was either allowed to have their wishes granted or become the new Ruler.

However, to either become the new Ruler or have your wishes fulfilled, you had to beat the Ruler himself, or her, in a battle. If you lost against the Ruler, you wouldn't gain anything and they could decide your fate.

Also, if you didn't know, the Ruler is the person who rules and maintains the peace in the dimension. Supposedly, the Ruler is the strongest being of the dimension and is granted immense power. So far, there have only been three Rulers.

The first one was Kibou Yami, the most well-known Ruler. Then, there was his daughter, Scarlet Sensos. However, after she had committed suicide, her daughter was supposed to become the heir to the throne. But she ran away and a new Ruler was chosen.

This man's name was Victor, the Third—and current—Ruler of the dimension. Victor was also the person who had created the Academy of Hades and the Hades Tournament.

"Do you have any goals for winning?" Neptune asked as she sat down beside me on the grass. "Do you want to become the new Ruler or do you want something else?"

I looked up towards the sky. "You know the answer to that well enough."

"Nuh-uh!" Neptune denied. "Maybe your goals have changed!"

I shook my head. "You know that I could care less about becoming Ruler. What I care about is my family."

"So you still want to see your parents, huh?" Neptune asked.

I confirmed her question with a smile. "Of course. Even though Jewel tells Luna and I stories of them, I still do wish I could be with them."

"Does that mean that you don't care about me?" Neptune asked, forming fake tears.

"You know that you're my best friends," I said. "Of course I'd still care about you."

Neptune let out a giggle. "Aw... Thanks, pal!"

I let out a chuckle. "No problem, buddy."

"That being said and all, I'm not ready to go back," Neptune admitted.

"Why?" I turned to face her frowning face. "Don't you like the free meal cards?"

"Of course I like those!" Neptune quickly replied. "Come on! Who wouldn't love a free meal card to have as much pudding as you wanted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!?"

Hearing that answer made me laugh. "Then what makes you not want to go back?"

Neptune's eyes met mine. "Those District uniforms..."

Instantly, I understood exactly what she meant. I let out a grumble. "Oh yeah... Those..."

Every year, the academy gives you a school uniform, depending on your District. The only catch was that you had to wear that uniform throughout the entire week. Unless it was the weekend, you were in the Hades Tournament, it was holiday break or you were sleeping, you had to always have the uniform on. Though, your uniform depended on what District you went into.

Districts were basically like the school's factions, depending on what weapon you used. There were the Bladers, Gunners, Sorcerers and Researchers. Neptune and I were Bladers, even though she had the choice to be a Gunner. Though, Luna was a Sorcerer.

"I don't know why you're complaining," Neptune wondered. She stared at my outfit. "It's not too different from what you wear normally anyway."

I flipped my long bangs away from my face. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But you just wouldn't get it..."

Neptune smiled. "Guess not..."

Besides having eminence purple hair with long bangs and murky brown eyes, I wore a pretty simple attire.

It was a black jacket with a plain white T-shirt underneath; I wore a pair of black skinny jeans and matching military boots. Also, I wore a silver necklace with a pearl center, along with 3 chains dangling from the left side of my jeans.

"That being said, you wanna go get some ice cream?" I asked Neptune, who was prancing around me.

"Only if I get to have the kind of ice cream I want!" Neptune said.

I smiled and stood up. "I know, I know. I'm buying, so you can get whatever you want."

"Aw, thanks, Sigi!" Neptune ran up and wrapped her arms around me, giggling.

"Yeah, yeah," I forced her off of me. She was still grinning widely though. "Let's just get going..."

"Oh, wait! Sigi!" As I began to walk back towards the city, Neptune tugged on my sleeve. Turning back to her, she wore a curious expression.

"What's wrong, Neptune?" I asked. "You don't want ice cream anymore?"

Neptune quickly shook her head. "N-No, no! It's not that!"

I stared into her eyes, wondering what she was talking about. "Then, what is it?"

Another giggle escaped Neptune's mouth. "Well, I just thought that we should maybe buy some ice cream for Luna too!"

I chuckled before poking her cheek. Neptune squirmed as I did so. "Hey! What was that for?"

"I was just thinking of how nice of a gesture it was," I stated. "It's kind of you to think of her."

"Well, I like your sister!" Neptune replied. "Not in a lesbian-esque way, but as a bro—y'know, if I were a dude..."

I shrugged. "Whatever. We going to go or not? If we keep talking, the ice cream store might close."

"Oh! Sorry, sorry!" Neptune began to apologize. She then began to run back towards the city. "C'mon! Don't be a snail, Sigi!"

I smiled before running after her. "I'm coming!"

* * *

Ice cream! Ice cream~!" I watched as Neptune skipped happily through the streets while we made our way back to Jewel's place. I stared at the giant tubs of ice cream that she held in her hands.

Even though they each weighed several pounds, the thought of eating it made them weigh nothing to Neptune, especially the pudding ice cream.

"Sigi! C'mon!" Neptune turned back to me as I took my time walking. She wore an impatient look. "If we don't get back fast enough, the ice cream's gonna melt and I'll be an angry Nep if I don't get my ice cream!"

"Yeah, yeah..." I shook my head, but picked up my pace a bit, not wanting to keep Neptune waiting. Though, Neptune was literally two yards away from the complex.

"Come on!" Becoming too frustrated by my pace of walking, Neptune ran back over to me and tugged me along with her.

"H-Hey! I know how to walk! Neptune! Are you even listening to me?!" I shouted the question at her.

Though I had called it tugging, she was really just dragging me along.

"I want to eat my ice cream!" Neptune whined.

She continued to drag me while scaling up the living complex and carrying the tubs of ice cream.

*Slam!*

Reaching the floor where Jewel's suite was, Neptune kicked the door open, still dragging me. Greeting us, were Luna and Jewel, sitting on the brown leather couch that rested in front of the dark coffee table and plasma, widescreen TV of the living room.

"Sigi!" As soon as my little sister saw me, she rushed off the couch and tackled me to the floor with a hug. "Welcome back, bro!"

"L-Luna, you're hugging me too tightly..." I coughed the words out while my little sister and her long black hair smothered me.

"Oh, sorry!" Luna quickly got back to her feet, pulling me back up. Neptune and Jewel were watching us in amusement.

"Man..." I pushed myself back to my feet. Dusting off the dirt, I walked through the door that led into Jewel's suite and clicked it shut.

"Hey! Jewel!" While I took off my boots carefully, Neptune kicked off her's and ran over to Jewel. She showed her the ice cream proudly. "We got ice cream!"

Jewel cocked her head when she saw the three tubs of ice cream. "Neptune, why are there three tubs? Shouldn't there only be two tubs? Yours and Sigi's?"

"We decided to get some for you and Luna, too," I answered.

"Really?!" Luna's lilac eyes sparkled with happiness. The second I nodded, Luna's arms wrapped around me again. "Yay!"

"A-Again, with the hugs..." This time, Luna quickly pulled away.

She bowed her head. "S-Sorry, bro..."

I shook my head. "No, you don't have to be sorry..."

I stared at her face. Guilt was written on it. While I stared at her, a thought came up in my mind. It made me realize how much Luna had grown.

Back then, she would wear the exact same white nightgown with her short black hair in messy bangs.

But now, her long black hair was neatly combed. Also, instead of the nightgown, she now wore a white and black, crossover halter tank, accompanied by a denim miniskirt and black sneakers.

For some reason, she had also started to put an Amazon lily in her hair as an accessory and wear a silver bangle on her right wrist. Though, the bangle did have the same pearl as my necklace.

Luna stared at me curiously. "Bro, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me so weirdly? Am I reminding you of mom again?"

I frowned. "N-No, it's not that. I'm just thinking about how much you've grown as my little sister."

"H-Hey!" I began to pat the top of her head, making Luna squirm but blush. "Sigi, that's embarrassing..."

I let out a laugh. "Sorry..."

"Hey, are you two going to eat your ice cream or not?" Neptune asked, her mouth full of ice cream.

"H-Hey! That's not fair, Neptune!" As Luna formed a pouting face, she ran to the kitchen area and took a seat at one of the stools. She then swiped a spoon and began devouring away at the ice cream with Neptune.

Jewel, who stood at my side, smiled. "Just wait until the two of them get brain freezes..."

I crossed my arms. "It's alright. That just means more ice cream for us..."

"Hey," Jewel placed a hand on my shoulder. "Are you ready for this school year?"

I smirked and nodded. "Of course. This year, I'm going to enter the Hades Tournament!"

"You really want that goal of yours, don't you?" Jewel asked me.

"Yeah," I smiled and stared at one of the picture frames; it displayed a picture of a lilac-haired woman and a man with black hair and long bangs, each holding a baby.

"I'm going to see my parents..."

* * *

 **A/n:**

 **This chapter was uploaded early because I wouldn't have time later to do it because it's Memorial Day. So, I guess the chapter was uploaded early! Also, Happy Memorial Day!**


	3. Chapter 2

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd liek to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 2]**

I let out a sigh while I sat upright on my white mattress, staring at my small backpack. Neptune and I were both sitting on the bed and were already in our uniforms.

"I already hate this..." Neptune whined as she picked off some lint on her uniform.

"I agree entirely with you, Neptune," I muttered, staring down at myself. "Damnit..."

My uniform consisted of a black jacket with the Bladers' insignia and a red shirt underneath, accompanied by black jeans and matching military boots. This was the standard male uniform for the Bladers.

Neptune's outfit consisted of the exact same jacket and shirt. Only, she wore a black mini skirt and matching boots. This was the standard female uniform for the Bladers. Though, Neptune still wore her black and purple gun holster at her left thigh.

But, we both had our blades sheathed and in our bags.

"You think Luna likes her uniform?" Neptune asked. "She is a Sorcerer and not a Blader, like us."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Their uniform does suit her though..."

"Well, it is meant for both genders," Jewel said as she entered the room. "Are you two ready? The two of you are keeping Luna waiting and might miss the ride there."

Simultaneously, Neptune and I flopped onto the mattress. "But these uniforms suck!"

Jewel let out a sigh and shook her head. "You two are like this every year... Sigi, listen up!"

Focusing my attention on Jewel's words, I continued to stare up at the ceiling with Neptune. "What's up?"

"If you want that goal of yours to happen, you have to go to school, even if you hate the uniforms!" Jewel said. "Plus, you'll have weekends to be free of them!"

"But we have to always be wearing them..." Neptune added. "And they suck!"

"It doesn't matter," Jewel continued. "Sigi, that goal isn't going to come true if you keep complaining about the uniforms. Besides, someone might somehow win the Hades Tournament while you two are lying here and complaining!"

I shook my head. "That's not possible. The Tournament is at the end of the school year. It's only the beginning—"

*Sk!*

A sudden silver blade grazed my cheek and left a cut of blood, landing right beside my head. Looking at the silver dagger, I turned back to Jewel, frowning.

"Fine..." I kicked myself to my feet and wiped the blood away with my knuckles; I stared at Jewel. "You didn't have to throw that, y'know..."

Jewel shrugged. "It got you up..."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Neptune, we're going."

"Actually you go on ahead with your sister," Jewel suddenly stepped between Neptune and I. "I need to talk to Neptune about something."

"What happened to not wasting time!?" I questioned.

Jewel just shook her head. "Just head off with Luna. I need to have girl talk with Neptune."

Letting out a grumble, I left them alone to have their "girl talk".

I found Luna sitting on the couch, in her uniform and watching an anime. Noticing me, she turned the TV off and hopped to her feet. "Where's Neptune at?"

I shrugged. "Jewel apparently needed to have some kind of talk with her, so we'll be heading off first."

Luna smile. "Cool!"

I nodded as she slung her brown messenger bag over her shoulder. We then closed the door to Jewel's suite and began walking towards the train that would take us to the Academy of Hades.

"By the way, Sigi," Luna turned and smiled warmly at me. "What do you think of my uniform?"

I stopped to stare at her uniform, the same one that all the Sorcerers wore. She wore a short sleeved white shirt with a brown V-Neck vest over the shirt. The vest had the Sorcerers' insignia.

She also wore beige khaki pants and a pair of brown dress shoes.

Honestly, all she needed was just a pair of glasses and she'd be the cutest nerd girl.

But, I smiled and said the first thing that came to my mind. "I think you look pretty cute."

"Hehe!" Luna's cheeks flushed a bit. "Yay!"

"Alright," I nudged at her shoulder. "Let's get going. We don't want to miss the train."

Luna gave a firm nod. "I got it, bro!"

We made our way out of the building and began the walk towards the station. "Hey, Sigi," Luna looked up at me.

"Yeah? What's up?" I glanced over at my younger sister, who happened to be eyeing me. "Something wrong?"

"W-Well, no. Its not that..." she put her index finger to her chin, searching for the words. "I...don't know how to put it..."

"Well, what's it about?" I asked.

Luna shrugged. "Um, I just wanted to know if you were going to go to the Angel's Ball..."

"Oh, that..." I crossed my arms while we continued to walk.

The Angel's Ball was basically a dance that was held a week before the Hades Tournament officially started. Though the dance was for friends or lovers, the dance's purpose was to wish the best of luck to the competitors in the Hades Tournament.

But, since the ball was usually infested with so many lovers, it was also known as the Lover's Ring. Since the Hades Tournament started at the beginning of March, the Angel's Ball was held at the end of February.

I stared at Luna. "I don't like to think about those types of things. Especially things like the Angel's Ball..."

"But don't you want to go with Neptune?" Luna pressed on with her questions.

"Neptune and I are just good friends," I answered. "Nothing more, nothing less..."

"Are you sure?" Luna grinned at me. "You two could be closer..."

I shook my head. "I don't want to think about that right now..."

"Come on, Sigi!" Luna pressed on. "I think you two would be great together!"

"Sorry, sis," I patted her head as we arrived at the train station. "We'll have to talk about this another time..."

"Hey! That's mean, bro!" Luna pouted at me.

We arrived at the station that took us to the Hades Academy. There stood many students, all in their uniforms. Many people stood there chatting with others that were either Bladers, Gunners, Sorcerers or Researchers.

Many of us were people who had been attending since we were young, while some were entering their first year and looking nervous.

Just as we got to the station, the flying train—yes, a flying train—arrived in front of the students. All the students then stopped their talking and began rushing to file in the train.

"Do you think Neptune's going to make it?" Luna asked while we made our way in.

I shrugged. "She's done this before. Don't worry."

We boarded the train and watched its doors close.

*Crash!*

As the train sped off, someone crashed through the glass of the train door.

I smiled and glanced at Luna. "Told you..."

Neptune recovered from her roll, patting off any dirt or glass on her and her bag. She then smiled and turned to the two of us. "Hey, what's up?"

Luna could only stare in shock between Neptune and the sliding door's broken glass. "I-Is that even safe?"

Neptune let out a chuckle. "Relax, I've done this a few times. All that matters to the Academy is that you make it on the train. It doesn't matter how. You just have to get on!"

Luna stared up at me. "Is she being serious?"

I couldn't help but smile. "One hundred percent..."

"Hey! At least it allows us to be like dogs and stick our heads out the window to catch some fresh air!" Neptune said.

"Well, we're not even allowed to stick our heads out," Luna pointed out. "You know the rules. It's like a bus: you don't stick your head out of the window."

"Aw, fine!" Neptune formed a pouting face and crossed her arms, leaning against the side of the train.

"By the way, what did you and Jewel talk about?" I asked curiously. "It must've been important, considering it took you two a long while."

Luna and I watched as Neptune's cheeks became flushed before she averted her gaze. "I-It...was just about keeping you on track, Sigi..."

"Me?" I cocked my head at her. "If anything, she should have told you to stop being as lazy."

Neptune quickly shook her head. "I-I swear that's what she said!'

I shrugged. "Alright, whatever. I won't question it..."

"Moving on..." Neptune's flustered cheeks quickly faded and she returned to her usual smile. "Are you excited to get back to our classes?"

I just stared at her. "What's so exciting about it? We've been in the same class since we were both 6. What makes this class year special?"

"Doy!" Neptune flicked my forehead. While I rubbed at it, she stared at me with a pair of excited eyes. "It's cause we're going to get new people joining our class!"

"Oh yeah..." The realization dawned on me. "So our class is going to get bigger than, huh?"

"Yepperoni!" Neptune stared at me with amusement. "Man, you're so slow on these things!"

"Yeah, yeah..." I ignored Neptune's remark. "So that means there could be someone that could join our team?"

Neptune shrugged. "Maybe. If they're cool and can appeal to the readers, they're okay in my book!"

"So you two are going to attend the Tournament as a team?" Luna asked.

Neptune and I both nodded at her. "Yup!"

"We thought that, if we found a third member to our team this year, our chances of winning will be even higher!" I explained.

"Ah..." Luna seemed to understand.

*Ding!*

Suddenly, a male's voice came over the train's intercom. All the student's attentions immediately turned to the intercom.

*WE WILL BE ARRIVING IN APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES! PLEASE BE PREPARED TO JUMP!*

Hearing the word "jump", many of the newcomers began to panic.

"Jump!? Did he just say to jump!?"

"Jump!? From where!? I thought this was a train ride to a school!"

"I don't want to die! I can't jump!"

While Luna stared at the newcomers with a sympathetic look, Neptune and I struggled to hold back our laughter. "Those poor suckers..."

"You two are so mean..." Luna murmured. "We had to experience that same shock too, remember?"

"Yeah, but the terror wasn't there for us," I admitted.

Luna stared at us with puzzlement. "R-Really?"

"Yup," Neptune formed a wide grin. "Since Sigi and I made a bet, we both wanted to win. So, the fear element wasn't really there for us. The winning element was there though!"

"Then, who won?" My younger sister asked.

"We ended up tying," I answered. "And then, when it was your first time, I helped you through it. Plus, you were warned months before."

"Then that means you shouldn't be laughing at them at all!" Luna responded. "Imagine if that was me again!"

I slouched my shoulders and frowned. "Alright... Neptune, laugh for me too."

"Don't worry!" Neptune put a hand on my shoulder. "I got it!"

*Ding!*

A few minutes passed and the man's voice came over the intercom again. This time, the newcomers were already panicking.

*WE WILL SOON BE APPROACHING THE JUMP POINT! YOU WILL EITHER JUMP OR YOU WON'T! GOOD LUCK!*

"I don't want to die!"

The man's voice disappeared from the intercom and the newcomers erupted into a panic, yelling and running through the train.

I shrugged and stared at Luna. "You think I can fix that?"

Luna let out a sigh. "I guess not..."

"Hey! It's here!" At Neptune's ushering, Luna and I walked over to her, just in time to see the train doors slide open.

I smiled. "What do you say, Neptune? Another race?"

Neptune nodded as the three of us slung our bags over our shoulders. "No way I'll pass that deal up!"

"You two are way too energetic," Luna murmured.

"Makes the whole jumping thing more fun," I replied.

Luna shrugged. "I guess. Good luck to you two..."

We nodded before turning back to face the view outside. The buildings, tubes, and cars continued to speed by. About a minute later, a familiar, blurry sight came into view.

Neptune and I got ready, bending our knees as the train sped along the gigantic building, the school.

Looking a bit to our left, we noticed the landing point, along with the course setup.

"Ready?" Neptune's grin was from ear to ear. "Let's go!"

Timing our jump, we both jumped from the train. Our bodies were both quickly pulled down towards the building top.

Nearing it, I forced my body to turn enough to land closer to the center of the painted target.

The target neared while we fell at a fast rate. Quickly, I took off my jacket and used it as a makeshift parachute.

Although not much wind caught it, my landing was cushioned a bit and I pulled the jacket back before landing at the center of the target with Neptune.

While I put my jacket back on, a man stood there, scrawling down various things on his paper. He then glanced up at us and smiled. "Good job, you two..."

"Of course!" Neptune grinned triumphantly while I watched behind us. Many other students were fast approaching, while some were cowering in fear on the train as it sped by.

"Here," the man took two black handle devices from a nearby table of many and tossed them to us. "If you need a refresher, those things can materialize into your weapon. If you're going to attend the Hades Tournament, you'll be using your actual weapons. Though, you'll be using those for the school year."

"Sweet!" I watched as Neptune let out a laugh and pressed the button on her device. Instantly, the device turned into her pair of blades.

Her blades were the same as they always were. They were steel black blades with violet edges, matching handles and circular black guards.

I shrugged and pressed the button. I smiled once it turned into my sword. "Alright..."

The blade was an energized longsword with a steel silver handle, no attached guard and a long blade made of pure, blue laser energy.

Basically, it was a lightsaber.

The man stretched his arms as he noticed the other students beginning to land behind us. "Remember, you only get one of those for the entire year. If you break or lose it, you'll either have to pay for a new one or you'll be kicked from the school."

Neptune and I exchanged glances before nodding at the man. "Got it!"

"Good," the man smiled before he returned to scrawling down various things on his paper. "Now, hurry and finish the course. You had the guts to jump, so a little obstacle course should be nothing."

Without another word, we both ran ahead, towards the obstacle course. I chuckled. _Little obstacle course, he says..._

We kicked open the door to the building. Since we were on the rooftop, there was a stairwell leading down.

"Smell ya later, Sigi!" Without any warning, Neptune began racing down the stairwell.

I smiled. "Same goes for you!"

Instead of actually going down the stairwell, I got on the edge of the stairwell, where there was the gap between the descending stairs, barely big enough to fit through.

I then did a little hop and fell through the gap in between the flights of stairs. I quickly passed Neptune and several flights of stairs. Before I touched the bottom, I grabbed onto the nearest railing.

"…!" I felt the pull slam my arm into the cold, metal railing as I slipped off and landed on the concrete floor. I then massaged my hand for a second before turning to the door that led ahead.

*SLAM!*

I kicked the door open to discover dozens of machine gun turrets lined against the walls of the narrow hallway towards the next room.

Detecting me, they all snapped their aim to me and opened fire.

In a hurry, I pressed myself against the door's wall and watched as the bullets all sprayed the bottom of the stairs.

I held my breath and counted as I listened to the sounds of the machines resetting.

 _That wasn't there last year..._ I thought. _At least I know that there's a few second delay before they can fire again..._

Hearing Neptune's footsteps approaching, I threw my blade into the room before running in.

I watched as the turret all fired at my blade at the end of the room while I dashed for it.

The second the turrets stopped firing and turned to me, I snatched up my blade and deflected the next round of bullets.

While the turrets reloaded, I kicked the door to the next room open and quickly slammed it shut, just in time to feel the strong force of the bullets raining down on the other side of the door.

Letting out a sigh, I took in the room I stood in.

On the other side, there was a hall leading to another room. However, the room itself was filled with multiple bots, some equipped with guns, while some were gripping their blades.

I smiled and watched as the bots roamed the edges of the room. I then dashed in and impaled a bot from behind.

Its gun clattered to the floor as I pulled my blade out and all the bots snapped their attention to me.

Reflexively, I grabbed the dead bot's gun and turned to the other bots that were holding guns.

*Bang!*

Seeing their fire, I quickly ducked before taking aim on each of them.

*Bang!*

Using the few bullets in the gun, I knocked away the guns of the bots before tossing the pistol aside.

Before I could recover, all of the sword bots surrounded me and thrust their blades at me.

Hopping into the air, the blades passed me and struck the bot adjacent from them, killing all four of them.

Their bodies crashed to the floor and I sped towards the disarmed bots, who were all lined up.

Without any hesitation, I slashed at all of them and their heads were all sliced off. Letting out a deep breath, I ran ahead to the next room.

Kicking the door open, I was met by the sight of an energy blast towards my face. Reacting quickly, I sliced the blast in half with my blade and it faded away.

With the little time I had, I observed the room. _The last room: several mage bots blocking that door to the end._

I tightly gripped my blade and sprinted at the mage bots. Reactively, they all fired bolts of different elements.

I knocked the first two fire bolts away then dodged to the side, avoiding several bolts of lightning. I then lunged towards the nearest mage bots and slashed at them before they could cast their spells.

Three of them were sliced in half while the remaining five all snapped their attention to me and barraged me with thousands of elemental blasts.

I bent my knees and got ready while the many blasts were rapidly approaching me.

"…!"

*BOOM!*

Just before the blasts hit me, I burst with energy and dodged the blast and their explosive range.

Before the bots had time to recover, I ran towards them and slashed off the head of one. Following that, I kicked the dead bot's body towards the remaining four.

The bot caused another bot to tumble over and the rest fell like dominos.

Using that to my advantage, I lunged forward and stabbed them all at their heads.

I pulled the blade out and watched as the heads of the bots all blew up in a puff of smoke.

Letting out a final breath, I let my blade's energy disappear as I walked towards the final door.

Opening on it's own, I was met by the sight of the Ruler himself, the founder of the academy. He stood with several guards at his sides.

Victor smiled at me. "Congratulations, Sigi..."


	4. Chapter 3

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 3]**

Victor smiled at me, staring deep into my eyes. He repeated himself. "Congratulations, Sigi..."

"…" I stared into his dull gray eyes silently as I put my sword's handle away.

His skin was stark pale with spiked cobalt blue hair.

He wore an open white jacket and a skin-tight gray shirt underneath. Also, he was wearing white skinny jeans and gray combat boots, along with a leather black choker.

"What's wrong? You seem uncomfortable..." Victor's smile remained plastered onto his face.

"Why...are you here?" I asked cautiously.

"Simple," Victor replied. "I'm just here to congratulate the first person to make it here. That person is you..."

"...Alright..." I simply nodded and looked past the Ruler and his guards. Behind him was the door that led to the actual Academy. "Can I go...?"

"Oh? You don't want to challenge me to a battle?" Victor questioned. "If you can defeat me right here, you could become the new Ruler..."

I quickly shook my head. "Sorry, that's not my forte. I'll pass."

"Very well..." Victor let out a sigh before signaling for his guards to step aside. "Once again though, congratulations..."

"Yeah..." Averting my eyes from his, I walked past him and his guards. Without looking back, I opened the door that led to the Academy of Hades.

"…" I was met by the empty, echoey halls of the main building, the Hades Building.

The building was filled with four different branching hallways, each leading to a different District. There was also an elevator that led up the building. The first floor up led to the BSA room—a room that will be touched on later. The elevator also led up to the headmaster's office—Victor's office.

I stopped staring blankly at the building that I alone stood in. Instead, I turned my attention to a board that loomed over the room. It was a ranking board, displaying the students' current rank in the school.

I smiled at what I saw.

 **[1 – Sigi Aurum]**

 **[2 – Neptune]**

 **[3 – Shiri Sensos]**

 **[4 – Yami Kai]**

 **[5 - Brindle Dovah]**

 **[6 – Noire]**

 **[7 – Uzume Tennouboshi]**

 **[8 – Deadeye Tsuki]**

 **[9 – Andy Hoshi]**

 **[10 – Luna Aurum]**

Seeing my name first made me happy.

Since they created the obstacle course, the goal was to see who could finish the fastest. Though, if you didn't jump the train, you would eventually be taken into the Academy of Hades. However, you would be placed at the bottom of the rankings.

After looking at the board once more, I frowned. It was something that struck me as odd.

On the third place of the ranking board was somebody by the name of Shiri Sensos. If it wasn't for the last name, I would have shrugged it off. However, Sensos was the surname of the Second Ruler, Scarlet Sensos.

If my prediction was right, then that meant that this Shiri Sensos was the daughter of the Second Ruler. The heir to the throne who had run away. Though it struck me as odd that she would run away and then decide to enroll into the Third Ruler's school, I decided not to put much thought into it.

"Hey! Hey! Sigi, wait up!"

Just as I was about to leave towards the courtyard of the campus, Neptune came running after me. Unlike me, sweat drenched her body, glistening her body

"Oh. Hey, Neptune," I stared at her as she struggled to catch her breath. "So, how was the course for you?"

Neptune glared at me. "You cheated! I would have won if you hadn't jumped through that gap in the stairs!"

I chuckled. "What can I say? The only requirement was that we had to make it here the fastest. It didn't specify any restrictions..."

"It doesn't matter! You cheated!" Neptune repeated. "The readers of this story will agree with me because I'm the awesomer character and you just happen to have plot armor! I bet you secretly have some sword called The Sword of Plot Advancement!"

I shook my head. "Chill, Neptune. I don't have any ridiculous sword named that, nor do I have plot armor. You just can't accept the fact that you lost."

Even before I had finished clearing things up, Neptune put her hands over her ears, pretending not to be able to hear me. "SORRY! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

I let out a groan. "Whatever. I'm heading out to the courtyard. You can come with me when you stop whining."

As I made my way to the courtyard, Neptune caught up with me a few minutes later. I smirked. "Did you decide to accept that I actually beat you?"

Neptune shook her head. "Nope! But I don't want to be late!"

I rolled my eyes and returned to face the brick pathway. "Fair enough. I guess that reason will suffice for now..."

After a few more minutes of hearing Neptune's denial of me beating her, we made it to the large, open courtyard.

It was filled with lush green grass and a concrete sidewalk paved through the open yard. There were also benches that were laid throughout and a large stone fountain at the center.

Standing in front of the fountain was a short man with a really scruffy beard. He looked like a dwarf.

"Ah, congratulations on making it early, lads!" The man smiled warmly at the two of us. "The two of ya can just wait for the other students to get here."

As Neptune and I nodded in understanding, the train pulled in above the fountain. We looked up in time to see a hatch open at the bottom of the train and the students—who hadn't jumped—fell into the fountain, splashing water on us.

"Oh, so that's what happens to the ones who don't jump!" Neptune smiled. "Maybe we shouldn't jump next time, Sigi!"

I shrugged. "Maybe. It kinda reminds me of getting shoved into a pool, though."

"Ya lads have to shape up!" The dwarf man said as he stared in disappointment at the fallen students. "Those hairs of yers won't survive if you can't grow a pair!"

While the dwarf man scolded the failures of students, Neptune and I ran over to a nearby bench to go talk and such.

"So, what do you think about the ranking board, Neptune?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "I'm second, and you know what they say. First is the worst, second is the best!"

I let out a groan. "I mean what do you think about the other people on the top 10...?"

"Oh, that," Neptune let out a dry laugh. "Well, I'm surprised that Andy and Deadeye got such low ranks on the board. But I'm glad your sister got on there!"

I cocked my head. "You're not surprised by the number three spot or the new people on there who have never been to the school?"

"I don't really mind. I just care that I got second," Neptune stated. "As for the number three spot, I didn't really pay attention to who got that spot."

I let out a sigh. "Does it help if I tell you the person's name is Shiri Sensos?"

"Uhh..." Neptune stared back at me blankly. "Sure...?"

I facepalmed. "You don't know, do you?"

"N-No, sorry..." Neptune bowed her head.

"It's fine," I smiled. "But, does the surname Sensos ring a bell to you?"

"Isn't that the last name of the Second Ruler, Scarlet Sensos?" Neptune questioned.

I nodded. "And what's the name of the number three person on the ranking board?"

"…" For a second, Neptune stared at me blankly. Then, her eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Oh! I know now! She has the same last name!"

I stared at Neptune with amusement. "Well, at least you figured it out..."

Neptune formed a grin. "Of course I did! But, what does that mean? Is she the daughter of the Second Ruler? The one that ran away?"

I shrugged. "That's what I think it is, but I'm not sure. We don't even know what she looks like, nobody does..."

"Well, if she's in our class year, then we'll meet her during class introductions soon!" Neptune said.

"I guess..." I let out a sigh as I noticed other students beginning to pour into the courtyard. "Anyways, looks like it's time to get this thing underway..."

"Alright!" Neptune and I hopped from the bench and ran back to the fountain, where everyone was now gathered.

After seeing us, the dwarf man smiled and turned to face all of the students. "Alright! So, y'all are the lads and lasses for this year, ay?"

Most of us nodded while some simple just stood there quietly. "…"

"Bwahahahaha!" The dwarf man let out a laugh. "Well, it doesn't matter. I won't be holdn' your hand in this! It's sink or swim!"

The dwarf man then nodded to himself. "Right then. Lads and lasses, ye'll now all be divided into groups, depending on your age. Doesn't matter to me if you're the strongest 6-year-old! Ye kids are still too young!"

"Now," the dwarf man cleared his throat. "Let's divide y'all."

The dwarf man pointed to his left. "Lads that are 6 to 7 years old, go over there."

Hurriedly, all the 6 and 7-year-olds scrambled to where the dwarf man instructed. They all wore big, terrified eyes.

"Next," the dwarf man pointed behind him, "ye kids that are between the ages of 8 and 16, head back there."

Unlike the younger children, the students here walked in a calm matter towards the indicated point.

"Now, ye big kids should head over there," the dwarf man pointed to his right.

Without any hesitation, Neptune and I followed the rest of our students to the right side of the dwarf.

"Alright! Now that that has been cleaned up, may the leaders of each faction step up to me?" The dwarf man asked.

At his request, the four leaders each stepped away from the elder group of students and walked towards the dwarf man before turning back to face us in a formal fashion.

Each one wore their faction's uniform proudly and with pride.

"These are the leaders of each faction!" The dwarf man said. He nodded towards the buzz cut man with dark skin. "Andy Hoshi is the leader of the Bladers. I don't care how strong ye are. Don't try to take him on!"

The dwarf man then moved onto the tanned girl with short black hair. "Tsuki, also known as Deadeye Tsuki—as y'all lads call her. The leader of the Gunners and the last person ye should be messing with!"

He then moved onto the another girl. This one also had pale skin and long chestnut brown hair with a small rose in her hair. "Jumon Million, the leader of the Sorcerers. Doing anything weird to her, and ye lads will be dinner!"

Hearing that, some of the 6-year-old kids swallowed hard.

The dwarf man then moved onto the final leader. A man with messy green hair and stark pale skin. "Kane Shoulen, the craziest and smartest leader of them all. He may not seem strong, but the lad's wits will land y'all in the infirmary!"

The dwarf man then stepped up to our groups. "Last, I'm Harez. I'm the man that will be keeping y'all in line! Step out of line and ye lads will be having an unpleasant visit to me! Understand?"

As everyone nodded, Harez nodded back. "Alright. Now, you maggots are getting new members to yer classes!

At his instructions, a dozen students from each age group stepped up to Harez. Though I paid attention to each of their introductions, there were 9 that stood out the most to me.

"Next, We've got Yami Kai! The newbie kid that made it onto the ranking board!" Harez nodded towards a pales-skinned boy. "Say some words, lad!"

Yami nodded and took a step forward. He wore a pair of ice blue eyes and had messy white hair, along with a sapphire ring on his left middle finger.

"My name is Yami Kai. That's all you need to know about me. If any of you try to mess with me, I'll make sure you don't see the sun rise..."

At those words, many of the student's eyes bulged in terror. Some were even shaking.

"Alright. That's all ye gotta say, lad," Harez pointed him back to our age group. "Back to the pigsty."

"…" As he walked back, Yami stopped and stared into my eyes. His cold ices sent shivers down my spine. "You. Stay out of my way..."

I blinked for a second. "First, I don't know you personally. Second, I don't want anything to do with you..."

The air around grew tense as everyone held their breath and watched our eyes lock.

Then, he turned away. "Whatever..."

"…" I watched as he walked off to the back of the group before turning my attention back to the student introductions.

"Ah! Next, we got a lass named Noire!" Harez smiled as a fair-skinned girl took a step up. "Words, lass?"

She had her white hair in twintails, tied by blue ribbons and a set of turquoise eyes. "I'm Noire. It's my first year here! It's a pleasure to meet you all and I hope that I can make some friends here!"

"Well spoken!" Harez's eyes beamed joyfully as Noire walked back over to our age group. "Well, the next one goes by the name of Vert!"

At Harez's cue, a pale-skinned woman stepped up. Harez stared up at her. "Any words, lass?"

Vert had green hair tied up into a high ponytail and wore a pair of dark blue eyes. It was also worth noting that she was the most "developed".

Vert smiled at the students—who were all eyeing her. "My name is Vert. It's good to meet all of you and I hope that you shall treat me well!"

As she walked over to our age group, I watched as many of the guys formed wide grins. "Oh geez..."

"Now we got a lass named Blanc!" Harez turned to the girl with short hair as she stepped forward. "Introduce yourself, lass!"

Blanc had hazel brown hair, pale skin, and indigo blue eyes. "It's good to meet everyone. My name is Blanc. That's all."

"Short and to the point..." Harez nodded to the next student as Blanc walked over to our group. "Ah. Another lass! This one is named Plutia!"

The fair-skinned girl waddled forward. Her iris hair was in a long messy braid and she had a pair of rose-red eyes. "Um... Hi... My name is Plutia...! It's sooo nice to meet you all! I...uh...like naps...!"

Harez chuckled as she waddled over to our group. "Interesting one. Now, Uzume Tennouboshi!"

At Harez's calling, an orange-haired girl took a skip forward. Her hair was worn in twin ponytails and her sky blue eyes were accompanied by her fair skin. "Hi, hi! I'm Uzume Tennouboshi! Uzume is happy to meet you all and she hopes she can make lots of friends!"

We watched as she pranced towards our group while Harez smiled. "A jolly one, eh? Anyway, next is a lad named Angel Thornblood!"

A boy took a step forward. His hair was similar to mine. However, his long bangs partially covered his left eye instead. It was also worth mentioning that his eyes were an iris color and he had lightly tanned skin.

He stared at us all before shrugging. "I just hope to get to know some people... Name's Angel."

We watched him as he walked over to our group. Then, we turned our attention back to Harez.

"Now, we got a lass here by the name of Brindle Dovah!" Harez nodded to the black-haired girl as she took a step forward. "Yet another newbie that beat most of ya suckers!"

It was worth noting that she had her hair tied in several tails. Besides that, she had a pair of scarlet red eyes and tanned skin.

"My name is Brindle," she introduced. "Good to meet you all. I hope to make some friends here if I can..."

Harez chuckled as she walked over to our group. "Alright! Now, let's continue!"

After a few more introductions from students, the ninth student was introduced. The one that caught all of our attention.

"Alright... One more..." As Harez stared at his clipboard, his body suddenly went tense and he swallowed hard. "Well... This certainly is going to be an interesting year..."

Letting out a deep breath, Harez composed himself. "The last, and final student for this year, is Shiri... Shiri Sensos..."

"WHAT!?" Hearing that surname, all of the students snapped their attention to Harez, their eyes showing their complete shock.

"…" Quietly, a girl with long leaf-green hair stepped up.

Even though it sounded dumb, Shiri's appearance did seem to resemble the photos of the Second Ruler, Scarlet. Except, without the red.

Shiri had a set of amber eyes and lightly tanned skin. She also wore a sea blue, flower-shaped ribbon on her right wrist.

Shiri nodded. All eyes were on her. "It's good to meet you all. My name is Shiri Sensos and—"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR MOM!?" A student blurted out.

Hearing that question, Shiri, bit her lip and her gaze averted to the ground. "T-That's...um..."

"Pipe down!" Harez boomed his voice. "Let the lass speak and keep yer trap shut!"

Harez nodded to Shiri and she let out a deep breath. "My name is Shiri Sensos. I am simply here to win the Hades Tournament and accomplish my goal. If you only have questions about my past, then I will not answer them. I'm still human..."

As she finished speaking, all the students went quiet.

"You may go now, lass," Harez nodded towards our group and Shiri walked over. "Now, the newbies will be having their Entry Exam at the BSA! The BSA is the Battle Simulation Arena for you newbies! If you wish to watch, come with me. If not, head to your factions with your leaders!"

As everyone nodded and took off to do their own separate things, I felt Neptune tug on my sleeve. "Sigi, we should go watch that Yami kid and Shiri's Entry Exam!"

I stared at her with confusion. "Why? You never want to do that. You usually just want to hurry to the faction for the free lunch card."

Neptune flicked my forehead. "Because all nine of those people could be good candidates for our group for the Hades Tournament! Plus, Shiri wants to win it too! We should scope out the competition!"

I let out a sigh. "I guess so..."

"Alright!" Grabbing my hand, Neptune pulled me to where the newcomers were being guided by Harez to the BSA.

 _Shiri Sensos..._ I thought. _What are your goals for winning?_


	5. Chapter 4

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 4]**

After Neptune and I—along with many others—followed Harez to the BSA, we sat down at the arena's stands and watched as the newcomers all filed into the actual arena.

The BSA room, upon entering, greeted you with a long hallway that opened up to the large arena room. It was basically a huge stadium room with a bulletproof, glass dome surrounding the arena. And, if you somehow managed to break that, there was a force field also separated the stands and arena.

On the outskirts of the dome arena were the many rows of stands. Along with that, there were two boards, each mounted to the walls.

One board—once again—displayed the top rankings of the students throughout the entire school. The other board displayed the current teams for the Hades Tournament and could show recaps.

Many of us were there because we wanted to see who was the strongest and were interested in seeing the newcomers.

However, this year, we all had one person in common to watch.

While we all sat in our seats, looking into the gigantic arena, we all kept eyeing one person in particular.

Shiri Sensos.

After taking my seat beside Neptune, I stared down at the arena filled with newcomers. The few that interested me were the nine.

Though, I did pay a bit more attention to that Yami kid and Shiri.

"What weapon do you think Shiri uses?" Neptune asked.

I shrugged. "I guess we'll have to wait and see..."

"I bet you she's an all-arounder!" Neptune claimed. "She'll be like that overpowered character in every anime!"

"Keep dreaming..." I murmured.

"To think that the Second Ruler's daughter would come to this school..."

"Why do you think she's here?"

"Does it matter? She'll probably kick all of our asses!"

"These new students actually seem like they'll be a challenge this year..."

"But that Yami kid kinda scares me too..."

"Did you see the way he was staring at Sigi?"

"Imagine what would happen if those two fought!"

"I can't imagine that!"

While the others continued to talk, Neptune formed a grin. "Wow! Sigi, people are already talking about you!"

I shook my head. "Like I could give a damn about what they think about me. I have my own wishes to fulfill..."

"But don't you kinda want to have at least one fight with that Yami dude?" Neptune asked.

"Hmm..." A smile crept onto my face as I thought about it. "Actually, I kinda do..."

"Oh! Look, the simulations are beginning!" Neptune pointed down towards the arena. A simulation was just cast.

The arena's field was blinded by the white light and appeared a second later as an ocean with several land masses. Each student stood on a land mass while Harez stood on a hovering platform.

"Ye lads and lasses will be taking this year's Entry Exam together! Ye can choose to work together, or ya can work on yer own!" Harez explained. "To me, it doesn't matter! But, y'all should probably play this smart! This year's exam is far more difficult than the last few years! You can use yer weapons and anything available to ya! Good luck!"

Finishing his words, Harez snapped his fingers.

"GROOOAR!"

The ocean was forced into a tremor as several sea serpents emerged from the depths of the ocean.

"Whoa, those are new..." I stared at the scaled, large serpents in amazement.

"Those were never in the past exams..." Neptune murmured.

"Yeah, neither was doing the simulation as one group," I added. "Why are they doing this now?"

"Maybe it's because of the nine new students that joined!" Neptune suggested.

I bit at my underlip. "It could be that... Considering that, they'll probably throw anything they can at them to break them..."

"I don't think they'll break," Neptune responded. "None of them seem breakable..."

"Guess we'll just have to find out..." I muttered before turning my attention back to the serpents.

"GROOAR!"

*BOOM!*

The sea serpents—12 of them—all zoomed towards the students. In a blink of an eye, smashing into the land masses.

The waves went roaring and water was slammed against the dome. The water trickled off and revealed an amazing sight.

The students—along with Neptune and I—sat in awe. "N-No way..."

"…."

"H-How the hell?!"

"I-I'm not dreaming, r-right?"

"…"

At the center of the roaring oceans were 12 dead sea serpents, drifting through the water. While many of the students were splashing in the water to not drown, nine stood on the sea serpents' heads.

Standing on two, was Shiri, seeming unscathed or tired.

On another, Yami stood. He wore a look of boredom.

Two more were acting as a place for Brindle to lay, while one was Angel's shoe mat.

The last six were divided amongst the Noire, Blanc, Vert, Uzume and Plutia.

Plutia was napping on one, Noire stood triumphantly on another two, Vert and Blanc were standing on their's and wiping away blood, while Uzume was spitting on her hands.

As the ocean was turned back to the arena, Harez's platform floated him back down and he hopped off. "Ye lads and lasses are shameful! Outta the 50 of ya welps, only nine of ya killed them! Plus, they killed 'em on their own!"

Harez gave a sigh. "Looks like we'll have to perform these Entry Exams separately after all..."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Harez ushered all the newcomers to the outskirts of the arena. "We'll go in the order that I want! That means ye lot will go when I say so!"

Everyone nodded.

"Good..." Harez then pointed to some scrawny, little kid. "Yer first, kiddo!"

"M-Me?!" The little kid stared at Harez with big, bulgy eyes. "B-But—!"

"Shape up, lad!" Harez quickly said. "Yer in this school now. Time for ya to put on yer britches!"

After some more whining and crying from the kid, he finally walked up onto the arena floor. Instantly, the arena was changed into a thin sheet of ice.

"Now, lad, fight off the bots and don't fall into the water underneath," Harez said. "The more stages ya finish in a row, the faster this will go. Though the worse ya do and the more you fail, the harder and longer each stage is gonna get!"

Several long stages later, the boy finally finished. He was placed as a Researcher and ranked somewhere on the bottom. He must've been one of the people who didn't jump off the train.

The next student up was Brindle.

"…" Quietly, she walked to the center of the arena and stared up at Harez.

"Time to test yer abilities, lass!" Harez snapped his fingers and the arena turned into a sea of lava with several land masses. Following that, bots materialized on each land mass.

However, Brindle smiled. "Is that all?"

"We're just testin' yer abilities!" Harez said. "Just get done as fast and well as ye can!"

A smirk crossed Brindle's face. "Fine. You've been warned..."

As she let out a sigh, all the bots lunged towards Brindle, each of them brandishing a long sword.

*Shwing!*

Several of them slashed at her. Brindle suddenly unsheathed a pair of dual broadswords and used them to block and lock half of the swords in place.

While Brindle busied herself keeping the blades at bay, the other half of bots thrust at her from behind.

"…!"

*BOOM!*

Just before the blades impaled her, Brindle's eyes glinted red and a field of energy was cast right between the blades and Brindle.

Their blades touched the field and it exploded, blowing the bots back and knocking into the lava.

Not letting up for a second, Brindle turned back to the one in front of her. Suddenly, she blew out a gout of flames from her mouth and melted them to a pool of liquid.

She then turned her attention to the other half of remaining bots. She applied force to her blades and pushed the bots away. The bots staggered back and Brindle slashed at them.

While the bots were left open, Brindle's body was suddenly engulfed in a body of flames and formed the silhouette of a Drake Dragon.

"GROOAR!"

Letting out a roar, the fire dragon charged towards the bots and smashed into them. Their bodies were engulfed by the flames as they crashed into the lava.

Brindle's fire dragon then disappeared and she let out a sigh.

The field suddenly turned into the edge of a cliff, high in the sky. Instead of bots this time, multiple gigantic Wyvern Dragons—Ancient Dragons, as Jewel calls them—appeared and surrounded Brindle.

Though, Brindle continued to smile.

Just as the Ancient Dragons dashed for Brindle, her body erupted into white flames.

"GROOAR!"

*BOOM!*

All the Ancient Dragons swiped at her. With a loud crash, we found Brindle slammed on the ground, several sets of claws stab into her vital organs.

However, she was still breathing completely fine and wearing the same smile.

"No way!"

"H-How is she still alive!?"

Like many of the other students, I was left shocked. "H-How...?"

"She's using hacks!" Neptune claimed. "I bet you she has a secret console pulled up right now and has God Mode on!"

"From what I'm seeing, that does actually seem like a valid answer to this right now..." I admitted. I stared at Brindle's body. "Or it could be those white flames."

"Maybe..." Neptune frowned as she seemed to start thinking.

"Wait, look," I turned Neptune's attention back to Brindle.

Brindle stared at the claws that had stabbed into her body. However, she simply sighed. "Watching you guys try to kill me is like trying to get little kids to say really long words..."

*BOOM!*

"GROOAR!"

With another sigh from Brindle, she cast her barrier once again and an explosion upon contact sent the Ancient Dragons flying off the cliff's edge, also managing to rip off the enormously-sized claws of the Ancient Dragons.

"…" Though, Brindle didn't let that bother her as she pulled the sets of claws from her body. We then watched as the bloody holes in her body healed themselves and she simply tossed the Ancient Dragon claws off the cliff.

The environment around Brindle then turned to an open clearing of a rocky biome.

I decided to use that time to examine her blades.

Again, they were a pair of broadswords. The blades were flat, made of steel and curved. They also had flat golden guards and brown, leather handles.

"GROOAR!"

"…!"

Suddenly, a gout of flames was blasted at Brindle. With fast reflexes, Brindle performed a barrel roll and managed to escape the scorching flames. She turned her attention to the creature that had created the flames.

Neptune gasped while I formed a wide grin. "No way! That's so cool!"

The creature that was standing in front of Brindle was a beast with a lion head, a goat body and the tail of a serpent. Flames flickered from its breath and it wore a pair of wings.

This was a Chimera.

The thought of fighting it seemed to make Brindle excited while a smile crept onto her lips. "Interesting... A real Chimera..."

"GROAR!"

The Chimera's roar itself shot flames at Brindle. She used her swords to slice away the flames and dashed right towards the Chimera.

The Chimera reacted by breathing out a fire that covered half of the battlefield. Brindle jumped back and cloaked herself in white flames just before the Chimera's scorching flames enveloped her.

Once the Chimera's flames had disappeared, so had Brindle's white flames.

I stared at her with wonder. _I guess those flames have a limit..._

Brindle's eyes were locked with the Chimera's. However, instead of charging towards it again, she picked up a nearby black rock and quickly carved it into a pointed edge.

"GROOAAAR!"

As Brindle finish carving the rock and held it in her hand, the Chimera lunged towards her. Soon, Brindle found herself face to face with the Chimera.

"…!"

*FWSHHHH!*

From point-blank, the Chimera breathed out a wave of flames that enveloped nearly all of the clearing.

Neptune let out a laugh. "Man, I can even feel those flames from up here!"

I nodded. "I know. And they're hot too!"

Suddenly, a gout of flames from Brindle revealed her position and pushed the flames away from her. As the Chimera's wave of flames ceased, so did Brindle's.

Even though Brindle had been burned, she lunged towards the Chimera while it got ready to lunge at her.

"…!"

*Shk!*

Just as the Chimera lunged forward, Brindle dodged to the right and stabbed the pointed edge into the Chimera's throat.

"G-Groaa..."

The pointed edge began to melt into a liquid and trickle into the Chimera's throat. The Chimera let out a cough filled with agony as it began to choke. Soon, it lay at Brindle's feet, dead...

"Galena, a source of lead. You should have been smarter..." Brindle said. She kicked the Chimera away.

Her eyes turned back up to Harez. The clearing returned to the normal arena and Harez hovered down to her.

"Congratulations, lass!" Harez was grinning from ear to ear. "Ya managed to defeat the Chimera! That thing is usually something many can't kill! Even though ye can use fire, I think ye should go with the Bladers!"

Brindle smiled. "Alright. I can agree with that..."

"Ya can either wait here and watch the others, or ye can find yer way to the Bladers' District!" Harez said. "It's yer choice!"

Brindle shrugged. "I'll stay and watch..."

"Alright!" Harez gave a nod while Brindle walked up to the seats.

"Good job!"

"You're amazing!"

"How are you so good!?"

"Are you really a newcomer!?"

Immediately, Brindle was barraged by the crowd of students as she came up to where we all sat. Question after question she was given.

However, Brindle just simply shrugged and answered all of their questions with a single sentence. "All I did was train hard. When you have a goal, you work towards it. That's what I'm still doing..."

"…" The crowd around her went quiet and cleared a path for her to pass. She then walked over to where Neptune and I sat and took a seat beside us.

"Heya!" Neptune introduced herself to Brindle with an extended hand and her normal, loud self. "I'm Neptune and that kid is Sigi! It's good to meet you!"

A faint smile appeared on Brindle's face as she shook Neptune's hand. "Brindle. Good to meet you two, too..."

"Why are you sitting with us though?" I asked. "Wouldn't you rather sit with the people who now adore you?"

Brindle shrugged. "I like it better quiet. You two seem alright."

"Thanks!" Neptune smiled at her.

"By the way, what factions are you two in?" Brindle asked.

"Bladers," Neptune and I answered in unison.

Brindle nodded. "Then could you maybe show me around the district later?"

"Sure!" Neptune quickly accepted. "I'll even treat 'cha ya to some pudding!"

"Alright," Brindle responded. "Thank you!"

Neptune and I nodded before we turned our attention back over to the person taking their exam.

Yami Kai.

Yami had his hands in his pockets and slowly made his way to the center of the arena. Harez floated above and stared down at Yami.

"Alright! It's yer turn, lad! Time fo—"

"Just get it over with," Yami suddenly cut him off. "Get the boring talking out of the way. Just throw all three stages at me. I don't care for this."

Harez cleared his throat. "Very well then. I'll listen to yer request, lad."

Harez snapped his fingers and the arena turned to an ocean. Right after, several Drake Ice Dragons popped out from thin air and sped towards Yami.

"ROOOAR!"

Quickly, Yami froze the sea beneath his feet him and created a small glacial platform to stand on. Ice spikes then burst out and protected Yami.

The ice spikes jabbed through each of the Ice Dragon's mouth, leaving them stuck in place.

*SHK!*

The Ice Dragons broke away from Yami's spiked barrier. However, a rain of ice spikes stabbed into all of the dragons.

They were all stabbed and crashed deep into the ocean.

But Yami wasn't done.

His hands began to emit a chilling air before they began glowing a blue light. Instantly, the entire ocean was turned to ice, leaving only Yami standing there. His eyes still wore the same dull expression.

Yami looked up at Harez and the environment returned to the arena. "Done. Now tell me my faction."

Harez chuckled as he hovered back down. "Alright, lad. Least let me tell ya that yer gonna be a Sorcerer."

Yami turned away and made his way up to the seats. "Hmph."

Without another word, he walked up to where we all sat and leaned against a wall. While he was staring out at the arena, many of us were watching him.

The next person to go was the boy named Angel Thornblood.

He unsheathed a longsword. The black metal guard connected with the silver blade and white handle. It also had a blue fuller.

"Ready?" Harez prepared to snap his fingers.

Angel gave a slight nod and Harez snapped his fingers. The arena flashed before changing to a white void filled with oddly-shaped red prisms filling and scattered around the empty space.

Angel stood on a tall red tower and examining everything around him. Thousands of turrets spawned and their aim all snapped to him.

A wide grin formed on Angel's face. "Oh, this is going to be fun!"

Angel gripped the blade and made no attempt to block or dodge when the turrets began raining down their bullets onto Angel. Instead, he let all of the bullets hit him. Though, he continued to smile.

"Yes! Give me more!" A sudden maniacal grin formed on his face as the bullets tore at him and shredded his body to pieces.

"I think that kid's not going to make it..." Brindle murmured.

I nodded. "Yeah. His body is being ripped apart by all of those bullets..."

"Aw, nonsense!" Neptune let out a laugh. "This story has to have some OP characters! It's a Fan Fiction anyways!"

Brindle watched Neptune carefully. "A-Are you okay? Cause you're just spouting out some really random crap..."

I shook my head. "It's Neptune. She says all of this self-aware crap."

"Self–aware of what?" Brindle's eyes were now fixated on Neptune's grinning face.

"About this being a Fanfic—Mmf!" Neptune was cut off when I slapped my hand over her mouth.

"Just don't worry about it," I told Brindle. "Trust me, you don't want to know..."

"A-Alright..."

"Hey! Look down! I told you I was right!" As I removed my hand from Neptune's mouth, she pointed back down to the white void.

"AHAHAHA!" Staring back down, A bloody Angel howled with laughter. His destroyed body somehow got back to its feet.

"W-What the hell!?"

"I-Is he a zombie!?"

"AHHHH!"

"W-What?!" I could only stare down at Angel—or what was left of him—in disbelief. "How is his body standing?"

"See? I told you!" Neptune let out an amused laugh. "He's one of those OP characters that are impossible to kill!"

"Neptune might actually be getting at something..." Brindle admitted.

Instead of a response, I just stared down at Angel, at a loss for words.

"Now die!"

*Shwing!* *BOOM!*

The sclera of Angel's eyes were slowly turned black. He ignored it and charged towards the turrets. His speed was so great that you could only see a blurs of where he once was.

In a matter of seconds, all of the turrets had been sliced to pieces or blown up. Angel then reappeared at his original position.

Sweat now drenched his body. In fact, his body and eyes were now fine! It now looked as if nothing had ever happened to it in the first place.

"Haaa...Haaa..." Angel collapsed to the floor as the arena was brought back to its original state. Harez stood over him.

"Lad, ya had me worried for a second! Quite a risky moved ye pulled!" Harez smiled though. "Still, ya did good and I think ya can be a Blader!"

"A-Alright..." Angel forced himself to his feet. Despite how tired he looked, he wore a smile. "I'm gonna go watch..."

"Don't push yer body too hard, lad!" Harez called to Angel as he made his ways up to the seats.

As Angel made his way up to the seats, some of the students stepped back to let him pass; others simply complimented him or offered him high fives.

Like Brindle, Angel took a seat where Neptune and I sat. "You guys don't mind, do you?"

The three of us shook our heads. "Nope!"

A small smile formed on his face. "Thanks."

Neptune nodded. "Not a problem. But what was that thing that happened to you when you...uh...didn't die?"

"Oh," Angel gazed at Neptune for a second, taken aback. "That was simply one of my abilities."

We stared at Angel curiously. "Abilities?"

"Well, I actually used a few..." Angel muttered. "But, probably like you three, I possess unique abilities. Though, mine can only usually be used when I'm about to die. Either that or death is the cost."

"That's cool!" Neptune blurted out.

"By the way," I turned my attention to Brindle, "what's your ability? We never did ask..."

Brindle shrugged. Up to this point, she had been keeping to herself. "Just dragon-like powers and some magic. Nothing special."

"You're joking!" Neptune claimed. "You defeated all of those things so easily!"

"It wasn't anything special," Brindle said again. "They just weren't strong. Though, the Chimera was fun..."

"Since we said our abilities, what are yours?" Angel asked Neptune and I.

"I learned to warp!" Neptune said proudly. "I can basically teleport to any pudding store I want!"

"And she learned it by accident," I added. "She tried learning magic but ended up just learning how to teleport. Still a pretty good trade-off in my opinion."

"Then what's yours?" Brindle questioned me.

I bit my lip. "I-I...don't think I have one..."

"Then how'd you get into this school?" Angel wondered. "It's true that anyone can enroll, but how could you be so well known throughout this school if you don't have a unique ability?"

"Beats me," I shrugged. "Plus, I'm not even that well known."

"I was at the train station and heard several students talk about you," Brindle snapped back.

"She's got a point," Neptune agreed. "You just never paid attention."

"Whatever. The point is that I don't have any unique ability," I repeated myself.

"That's where you're wrong again," Neptune responded. "I looked through your school profile and saw that you did have an ability! It was just 'unlisted.'"

"What do you mean?" I became curious at Neptune's words.

"Usually, the profiles either state your abilities or don't," Neptune explained. "But yours went down as 'unlisted'. That means you have an unknown ability!"

"Then how come I don't even know about it?!" I looked at Neptune, hoping she had the answer.

She shrugged. "Luna has the same thing on her profile."

"Seriously!?" I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Neptune's mouth.

"Look, we'll worry about it later!" Neptune patted my head like I was some child. "Let's just keep watching more fights that the author is having trouble making!"

I stared at Neptune's grinning face. "Someday, those comments are going to get you killed..."

Without any more words, we all turned our attention down to the arena. Currently, it was a ballroom with rows of columns and chandeliers.

Uzume's steps rang through the echoey room while she continued taking steps back to avoid the blades of several bots.

"…!"

One of the bots ran right up to her and swung its pulled-back blade at her.

The sword was only inches away from Uzume when she grabbed it by its blade. She winced as the blood began to trickle from her hand.

While she struggled to keep the blade at bay, the other two bots ran at Uzume and slashed down at her.

Biting her lip, Uzume kicked the bot away from her. She repositioned the blade to where she held the handle and not the blade's edge.

Uzume whirled around to see the other two bot's blades coming right down at her.

*Clang!* *Shk!*

Uzume performed a roundhouse kick and knocked away a bot and its blade. Finishing her spin, Uzume spun her body and smashed the sword against the other bot's blade. The sword was knocked away from its hands and left the bot defenseless in the air.

As Uzume finished her spin, she turned her body and slashed at the bot. In an instant, the bot's head was on the floor while its body crumpled over.

*Crash!*

Uzume then whirled her body once more and threw the sword at a bot that was getting up. The sword stabbed right through its head and slammed the blade, along with the bot, into a stone column.

She then turned to face the last bot remaining. It broke into a sprint wth its blade ready to drive right through Uzume.

Not moving from her current position, Uzume avoided the blade and slammed her fist into the bot's gut. It staggered back and dropped its sword.

Uzume tackled the bot to the floor and followed up by slamming her fist into its head, smashing it into millions of bits.

Uzume then got off of the bot and the arena changed back. She grinned at Harez. "Uzume wants to know how amazing she did!"

"Ya did great, lass!" Harez chuckled. "We'll be putting you into the Researchers!"

"Yay!" Uzume let out a squeal before running up to the seats.

Just as Uzume got up there, the glass between the stands and the arena slid up. We all stared down at Harez.

"Lads and lasses! We'll be taking a break to eat!" Harez said. "Get yer meal cards and get back here when yer done. After y'all are done eating, we'll resume the Entry Exams!"

With a final nod, we all filed out of the room. While Brindle and Angel walked with Neptune and I, Uzume tapped on my shoulder. I turned back to her and she waved at me while smiling.

"Hiya! I'm Uzume!" She introduced herself. "What about you all?"

"Hi, Uzume," I returned her smile before pointing towards Neptune. "That's Neptune. I'm Sigi."

"I'm Brindle," Brindle turned and waved back at Uzume.

"Angel," he did the same.

"It's good to meet you all!" Uzume said in a cheerful tone. "Do you mind if I eat with you all?"

I looked over at Neptune for confirmation.

She shook her head and smiled at Uzume. "You can eat with us, Uzume! The more the merrier!"

"Yay!" Letting out another squeal, Uzume smiled and walked with us.


	6. Chapter 5

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 5]**

"Yay!" Neptune sat down at one of the restaurant booths while Uzume, Brindle, Angel and I all followed her.

We each had our meal cards and were in the mall district. Yes, that's a thing. It's actually called the Community District.

We didn't have to worry about pay, due to the meal cards. The meal cards were basically cards that bought you a free meal. Essentially, you could buy an all-you-can-eat buffet with it.

Though, Neptune usually ate all-you-can-eat pudding.

Taking our seat at the booth, a holographic display appeared in front of each of us, asking what we would each like to eat and drink.

I simply picked a steak and a sweet tea. The screen then requested that it scanned my meal card. Doing so, my meal card disappeared and my food and drink appeared before me.

I smiled and took a sip from my drink before turning to see what everyone else got.

In Uzume's hands was a crepe with a variety of different toppings. It was sprinkled with a lot of sugar and was drenched in a variety of syrups.

Her drink was a large vanilla milkshake with a swirly pink straw and cherry on top.

I watched her as she happily ate away at her crepe and drank her shake. "Y-You really like sweets, don't you?"

"Uh-huh!" Uzume grinned at me, her lips were smothered with cream. "Uzume likes tasty sweets and crepes!"

 _It's almost as bad as Neptune's pudding addiction..._ I thought before looking over at her.

In front of her, Neptune had a glass bowl and gigantic thing of pudding ice cream sitting in front of her. Though her meal choice was absurd, her drink was a glass of strawberry milk.

I shook my head. It was Neptune, so it was nothing new. Especially her pudding obsession.

I looked over at Brindle and Angel's food. It made me smile. "At least you two are normal..."

Brindle's meal consisted of a chicken salad and a glass of water.

Angel's was simply a bowl of noodles with a side of several blueberry muffins, accompanied by a glass of water.

"Man, you three are so boring!" Neptune's head shook with disapproval while she stared at Brindle, Angel and I. "Why can't you be more like Uzume and I? We ordered tasty food!"

"Because that food will rot your teeth," I replied. "Sure, it's good. But you'll have to pay visits to the dentist."

Angel nodded. "Yeah. Plus, I don't like visiting the dentist."

Brindle let out a chuckle. "Same here."

"But what do you guys think Sigi's ability is?" Neptune asked everyone. "If he has an unlisted ability, then it has to be really overpowered, right?"

Brindle shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I am curious as to what it is..."

"I really don't think I've got one," I continued. "Luna might, but I might not..."

"But Jewel always told stories about how your dad was literally unkillable!" Neptune pointed out. "She always said that he was like a Mary Sue, but a dude..."

"I don't know..." I took a bite from the steak. The flavors melted in my mouth before I took a sip of tea. "I've never really met the guy, nor have I met my mom..."

"Apparently your mom has a sister that looks like me, too..." Neptune muttered.

I shrugged before taking another bite of the steak. "Apparently..."

"Wait, why are you in this school anyways?" Brindle questioned me.

"I'd also like to know," Angel's eyes turned to mine.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's pretty simple. I have a goal and I'm going to win the Hades Tournament this year..."

"If you don't mind, may I ask what your goal is?" Angel wondered.

I shook my head. "I don't mind. Simply, it's to see my parents again."

Hearing that, a small smile formed on both Uzume and Brindle's face. "That's a good goal!"

"Then what's yours, Neptune?" Angel turned his attention to Neptune. "What's your reason for being here?"

A blush entered Neptune's face, but she quickly shook it away. "Well, I kinda came here because of the free food and education..."

"Really?" Brindle stared at Neptune, surprised.

I nodded. "She used to live on the streets. Now, she lives in the academy and crashes with my sister and me at our godmother's place. Her name is Jewel."

"Wow! That's such a neat name!" Uzume let out a giggle. By this point, her entire mouth was covered with cream.

"Here," I grabbed some napkins from a dispenser and handed them to Uzume. "You have a little...everything...on your face..."

"Thanks!" Uzume grinned as she wiped her mouth clean.

"Though, now that we said our goals, what are your goals?" I asked everyone else. "It's only fair to share since we did..."

"Oh! Uzume first!" Uzume's hand shot up and she jumped from her seat like a child. "Pick me!"

With a smile, I nodded to Uzume. "Alright. What's your goal, Uzume?"

Uzume sat back down and her face turned serious. It was probably the first time I'd seen her look so serious. "Uzume wants to find her parents. They disappeared and Uzume wishes she could meet them..."

I let out a chortle. "I completely understand. That's how I feel too..."

"Really!?" Uzume returned to her joyful self and stared at me with bright eyes.

"Yup," I smiled back at her.

"Alright! What about you busters?" Neptune's attention turned towards Brindle and Angel. They had been quietly eating their meals. "Brindle? You wanna go first?"

"I guess," Brindle set her fork down and cleared her throat. "Well, mine might sound a bit strange. Basically I want to revive a pair of dragons..."

"D-Dragons?!" Neptune's expression showed disbelief. "B-But there aren't any dragons anywhere..."

Brindle shook her head. "They lived in hiding. There are still some left, but most of them were killed..."

"And why do you want to revive dragons?" I questioned. "Specifically, why a pair of dragons?"

Her scarlet eyes flickered before staring into my eyes. "Because they were my parents. I was born without any parents, so a pair of dragons raised me..."

"I see..." I was starting to get the situation here.

So far, according to what I had learned from the newcomers, they wanted to win the Hades Tournament because they had a grief, a loss. A loss that they wanted to fix. Like many, a loss can drive you to do things you didn't know you were capable of. Anything to rid that grief...

For us, it was training hard enough for a chance to fix that loss and bandage the wound. But others chose to do terrible things to try to heal the wound.

My attention then turned to Angel. "Then, what's yours?"

Angel shrugged. "Honestly, I do want to revive my parents. They also died. But trying to find love is another goal of mine..."

My mind went blank for a second. "W-Wait. You just said love, r-right?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah, is there something wrong with that?"

I smiled and shook my head. "N-No. No offense to you, it's just that I didn't expect it from a guy like you..."

A smile formed on his face. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Anyways, I think we're done here," I pointed to our plates. They were now cleared of any food. "Let's get back to the BSA."

Everyone nodded and we made our way back to the BSA.

* * *

On our way there, we had run into Luna. She had decided to come watch the Entry Exams since her faction were just giving introductions.

"It's good to me you all," Luna smiled at Brindle, Angel, and Uzume.

We took our seats back in the stands and watched as the last few newcomers walked into the arena, standing on its outskirts.

"Alright!" Harez cleared his throat. "Ah! Plutia! It's yer turn! Ya want it all together or in separate stages?"

"Ummm..." Plutia waddled up to the stage and stared at Harez. "Which one is eaaasier...?"

"Probably if ya take it all at once!" Harez advised.

"Okaaay!" Plutia let out a giggle and pulled out a stuffed bear. For some reason, the bear wore a snake necklace.

"Bet you that girl won't make it five seconds!"

"She really thinks she'll win with a stuffed animal!?"

"I gotta see this!"

We stared down at Plutia in disbelief. I couldn't believe that that was her weapon. "A-A stuffed animal?"

Uzume's eyes shined. "Wow! That thing is so cute! I bet it's called Mr. Pooh!"

"Oh, silly Sigi!" Neptune tisked. "Everyone knows not to judge a book by it's cover!"

"Neptune, what do you mean?" Luna asked her.

"Simple!" Neptune formed a grin. "I bet you she'll be very strong with that stuffed animal! Haven't you ever seen animes where the cutest character is actually the deadliest?"

I facepalmed. "Neptune, stop... J-Just...stop making so many comments!"

"Sorry!" Neptune let out a laugh.

Sighing, I turned my attention back to the arena. It was now a marsh swamp. It was also at that moment that a Hydra appeared in front of Plutia.

"GROOAR!"

At its roar, the Hydra's heads all spat out fire at Plutia.

"Wham!"

Instead of trying to dodge, Plutia swung her stuffed bear at it. When it did, the bear somehow managed to knock all of the fireballs away with the few seconds she had.

"…" We all stared down at Plutia, mouths agape.

Neptune then looked over at me. "What did I tell you? Was I right or was I right?"

I shook my head. "I think I'm just done questioning things..."

"But what do you think that teddy bear is made out of?" Luna asked.

"If it's cotton, then it's some really amazing cotton..." Brindle commented.

"It's pretty laughable though," A smirk appeared on Angel's face. "A legendary Hydra had its attack knocked away by a teddy bear..."

I stared at the bear and Plutia. "She deflected the attack, sure. But how's she going to take down the Hydra with that thing?"

My question was soon answered when Plutia embraced the teddy bear's snake necklace.

*Vrp!*

Suddenly, the snake necklace snapped from Plutia's neck and shaped into a sword.

The handle was black, there was no guard and the blade's base seemed to be an extremely hardened whip. Though, there were several connected blade attachments that allowed the weapon to form into a sword.

She then put her stuffed animal away.

"Hehehe..." A malicious smile formed on Plutia's face and her rose red eyes flickered with bloodlust. "I hope you know how to cry~..."

"GROOAR!"

In response to Plutia, the Hydra gouted out a blast of fire at her.

Plutia—now much faster—dashed out of the way of the flames and slashed a wave of energy at the Hydra heads.

As the heads all crashed to the ground, eighteen heads popped up to take their place. More flames swept towards Plutia. This time, the flames were double the area.

"GROOAR!"

"I want to hear you cry for me!" Plutia shouted. She lunged towards the flames and slashed through it. She then ran her sword through the flames and it was set ablaze.

Before the Hydra spewed out anymore flames, Plutia's speed increased once again and she lunged up towards the Hydra heads.

*Shk!*

Her blade stabbed through one and set it ablaze. The head burned and fell over, not creating another two heads.

She then jumped to another head and cut it off. Following that, she stabbed her burning blade into the cut-off head. The head was then burned and no more grew to take it's place.

That left sixteen heads.

"You're too boring for me to even try against..." Plutia stared up at the Hydra in disgust. "You won't cry, or scream or beg! So, I'll just finish you off right now!"

"GROOOAR!"

The Hydra blasted flames that swept through the entire marsh.

Plutia, once again, cut through the flames. Engulfing her blade in the flames once again, Plutia ran up to the Hydra. Her blade erupted into purple energy, combining with the flames to create purple flames.

*Shk!*

Plutia then stabbed her blade into the Hydra's body. The purple flames stabbed all the way through it's body and the Hydra was set ablaze. Soon, it's body was burned to a crisp and became a burnt carcass.

"…" Plutia wore a frown as she stared down at the Hydra. "You scum..."

The sword snapped back into a necklace and was put back on the teddy bear. Plutia's expression seemed to lighten once she stopped wielding the blade.

"Well... Lass, I think we'll put you with the Researchers..." Harez told Plutia.

The arena changed back and Plutia smiled up at him throwing her hands into the air. "Yaaay...!"

"Now ye can either head to yer district or watch the fights with everyone else!" Harez instructed.

"Okaaay...!" Plutia let out a giggle before starting her waddle up to the stands. As she approached, the people quickly cleared from her path. "Excuuuse me...!"

Neptune and I watched as Plutia waddled over to us and took a seat right beside Angel. She then turned back to us and waved. "Hi...!"

"Hiya!" Neptune returned her wave.

"My name's Plutia," she introduced herself. "What's yours...?"

"I'm Neptune! I'm the amazing main protagonist!" Neptune formed a wide grin.

"Sigi," I waved at her. "Good to meet you."

"Brindle," Brindle gave her a warm smile.

"I'm Uzume!" Uzume introduced.

"My name is Luna," my younger sister introduced herself formally.

Plutia smiled before turning to Angel. For some reason, he seemed to look uncomfortable. "What's your naaame...?"

"It's Angel..." He answered.

"It's good to meet you all..." Plutia let out a giggle.

"Hey, uh, Plutia," Brindle turned Plutia's attention up to her. "W-What exactly is your teddy bear made out of?"

"My beeear?" Plutia put a finger to her chin and thought for a second. She then shrugged. "I'm not reaaally sure..."

A disappointed look crossed Brindle's face, but it disappeared as soon as it had come. "Alright..."

While the others conversed with Plutia, I turned my attention to the arena. It was now Blanc's turn.

The second she stepped into the middle of the arena, it changed to a completely white room. It was also at that moment that several Ancient Dragons materialized. Though, these Ancient Dragons were plated in a black armor.

"GRAAAH!"

*BOOM*

All of the Ancient Dragons charged towards Blanc, ready to rip her apart.

However, she simply pulled out a giant hammer and it became layered by ice, emitting a breath of frost.

She swung the hammer and smashed it into one of the Ancient Dragons. It was instantly sent flying to the a wall before exploding into millions of chunks and pieces.

Blanc stepped out of the way of the remaining three Ancient Dragons. As they all swiped right at the spot she had been at, Blanc's hammer became covered in more ice.

She then smashed it down onto the three Ancient Dragons and they exploded into bits, the white room becoming covered in red blood. In the end, the armor the Ancient Dragons wore didn't make any difference.

I took the moment to examine the gigantic hammer. It's handle was white and metal, the head was a matching color with gold accents and the peen was blue.

The arena turned back to normal and Blanc—turning her weapon back into a black device—looked up at Harez; he was smiling. "Lass, I think we'll put ya with the Researchers!"

Blanc shrugged. "Alright..."

Wiping the blood off of her, Blanc walked up to the stands and over to where we all sat. After even more introductions, we were all back to staring down at the arena.

It was Noire's turn.

She unsheathed a rapier. The handle was a brown color with a gold crossbar and matching pummel. The blade was thin and black.

The arena changed to a small floating landmass floating high up in the sky.

Noire's opponent appeared from thin air. A cloaked man. The only things visible about him were his glowing blue eyes and marks covering his face.

"You'll die here," the man raised it's hand.

*BOOM!*

In response to his motion, the ground spiked up at Noire. As she jumped back, flames were shot at her, suddenly enhanced by a strong gust of wind.

Noire rolled to the right, only to have to jump back another time when the earth shot up at her again. She landed back on her feet to be greeted by the sight of a tsunami coming down towards her.

The tsunami crashed down on her and washed off the land mass. The man still stood there, watching the water wash away the landmass.

"Gh...!" With her one hand that was clinging to the edge of the land, Noire pulled herself back onto the floating land. She was drenched in water and was out of breath. Though, she still held her rapier.

"Give up," the man instructed. "If not, you will die..."

Noire shook away her tiredness and changed to a determined expression. She glared at the man and raised her rapier. "I'll never give up!"

"Then you will die..." The man raised both hands and performed a circular motion.

Flames combined with a pair of tornadoes and formed two fire tornadoes.

Bracing herself, Noire managed to time a dodge. barely escaping one of the tornados as the other one approached her.

Noire suddenly pulled out a long blue ribbon. Her speed burst and she dashed away from the other tornado.

"Die!"

Just as the man raised his hand to manipulate more nature, Noire threw the ribbon at him. Miraculously, the ribbon managed to loop around the man's hand.

He stared at the ribbon. "This dumb ribbon isn't going to kill m—Agh!"

*SHK!*

Right before the man could finish the sentence, a blade stabbed into his arm. Soon after, it was followed by several thousand more swords stabbing into his body.

"A-Agh..." The man's body gave out and he crumpled to the ground. He stared up at Noire as she walked up to him. "W-What...did you do...?"

"Besides me, anything that touches that ribbon is assaulted by a thousand blades," Noire answered. "You let your guard down. And, because of that, you lost."

"H-Heh... Well played..." The man's glowing eyes and marks faded and the cloak drifted to the ground. It was as if he was never there, like he was just an image of thin air.

The arena changed back and Noire looked towards Harez. "Lass, I'll put ya with the Bladers."

Noire smiled before beginning her walk to the stands.

As she sat and introduced herself, I stared down at the arena. There were two newcomers left. The person about to go was Vert. After her, it would be Shiri Sensos.

Vert stepped to the center of the arena and pulled out her weapon. It was a spear. It had a black, metal shaft and a crystalized green head.

The arena changed and turned to grassy plains. As Vert took in her surroundings, a figure appeared in front of her.

The figure had a human-like body. However, the lower half of it's body had two coiled vipers on the legs, hissing. It's hands were replaced with several dragon heads. Also, a pair of wings came emerged from it's back and flames erupted from it's eyes.

This thing was known as a Typhon.

"What an interesting creature..." Vert stared at the Typhon with amazement. Though, she wore a smile. "But, it doesn't mean that I'll let it overpower me."

"GROAAH!"

The Typhon let out a roar before flying towards Vert to spit a wave of flames right at her face.

To avoid the flames, Vert jumped to the side and thrust her spear at the Typhon.

"HISSS!"

She was quickly countered when one of the vipers snapped at her and she pulled back.

The Typhon's body spun to Vert and smashed into her, knocking her down to the grass. The vipers both snapped at her.

Vert rolled to one side to avoid one viper and used her spear's shaft to knock the other one away. Just before she was sprayed by more flames, Vert kicked up at the Typhon, causing it to stumble back.

Just as Vert got back to her feet, the Typhon recovered and flew at her again.

This time, Vert dodged out of the way of the Typhon.

Before the Typhon turned, Vert threw and stabbed her spear into the Typhon's back. It skidded to the grass before rising back to it's feet and pulling the spear from it's body.

*Clang!*

However, just as the spear fell to the grass, a small black cage confined the Typhon.

"GROOOAH!"

While it let out another roar and bashed away at the cage, several hundred spears filled the air, all pointed at the Typhon.

Vert stared into the Typhon's eyes. "Goodbye..."

*SHK!*

At the snap of her fingers, all of the spears shot towards the Typhon. Each one seemed to pass through the cage as if it weren't there. The spears would stab into the Typhon and it would let out a howling cry before another spear struck it.

"GRRAAAAH!"

The Typhon's cries made the glass shake while it continued to be barraged by spear after spear. There seemed to be no end to the barrage.

Eventually, the last spear stabbed into the Typhon and the cage disappeared. Once the cage was gone, the Typhon crashed to the ground, it's pool of blood quickly painting over the nearby green grass.

The Arena changed back as Vert picked up her spear and put it away. Harez nodded to her. "Researcher! Ya gonna be a Researcher!"

Vert returned with a smile. "Thank you. I shall now head to the stands."

Harez nodded as we all watched Vert climb up to the stands. "Pardon me, please..."

The crowd of students quickly cleared a pathway for her and she took a seat with us.

Although we had another round of introductions, we all were too focused on the final newcomer.

Shiri Sensos...


	7. Chapter 6

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 6]**

Shiri Sensos.

She was the last newcomer that needed to be tested. Everyone's eyes were on her as she slowly made her way to the center of the arena. She stared up at Harez.

"I'm ready."

Harez responded with a grin. "Ya got it!"

He snapped his fingers. The arena didn't change, but a person appeared adjacent from Shiri. "…!"

Like her, all of us stared at the person in disbelief. It seemed even Harez was shocked.

As Shiri's eyes met the man's, all of us broke into murmurs.

"I-Is that the Original Ruler?"

"I thought he was dead!"

"I didn't know the BSA could do that!"

"This hasn't happened on any other Entry Exam before!"

"The daughter of the Second Ruler versus the Original Ruler. That's going to be an interesting match!"

"It's like two Rulers fighting each other!"

Our group was giving each other funny looks. Luna tugged on my sleeve. "Bro, is that really the First Ruler?"

I remembered the many statues, biographies and sections in history books about him. All of them had shown the same face as the person staring at Shiri. "There's no mistaking it. That is the First Ruler..."

"But I didn't know you could spawn him into the Entry Simulation!" Neptune exclaimed.

My eyes met her. "Neither did I. It's because it's never happened before..."

Noire shook her head and crossed her arms. "Then what does it all mean...?"

"Wish we could tell you..." Brindle said. "But you're asking the wrong people..."

"The best we can do is see how this battle turns out," Vert advised. "Besides, this is the most hyped up battle."

Blanc nodded. "And it just got a lot more interesting..."

All of us focused our attention to the battle that was about to unfold.

The daughter of the Second Ruler was about to fight the First Ruler.

Shiri could only stare in horror at the Ruler. She then spun her head to Harez. "What the hell is this!? Is this some kind of joke!?"

"I-I didn't plan this, lass," Harez said, fumbling for his words. "The BSA simply generates worthy opponents based on your abilities that it already knows."

Shiri bit her lip before turning back to the First Ruler, Kibou Hikari.

"Who are you?" Kibou asked. "Something about you feels...familiar..."

"I don't know you," Shiri raised her hands at the Ruler. "And you don't know me..."

"Do you wish to fight?" Kibou wore a calm expression while he stared at Shiri. "Surely we can solve this more civilly..."

"I don't want to fight you either," Shiri admitted. "But I have to meet my goal. Even if I have to defeat you..."

A smile appeared on Kibou's face and he closed his eyes. "Then, so be it..."

*HSHH!*

A blue beam of light erupted from Kibou. His body began to glow and various tattoos began coiling around his body, glowing like his eyes. Static resonated from his body and was accompanied by a fiery blue aura as the beam of light disappeared.

"I'm sorry," Kibou's voice was now much more echoey. "But I cannot hold back against any opponent I fight against. If you wish to live and want to have a chance of accomplishing your goal, then fight me with all of your strength!"

"…" Shiri balled up a fist and gritted her teeth. "Fine... If it's against you, then I'll go all out!"

Shiri closed her eyes. A blinding golden light bursted from her and the area around her began to tremble. As Shiri opened her eyes, it revealed that they were now also glowing blue. "I don't use this very often, so be glad..."

Kibou nodded and sparks crackled at his fingertips. "I expect a good fight from you. You know that ability, so my expectations are high..."

"The same goes for you," Shiri's hands cast prisms in her hands. "After all, you are the First Ruler."

"Then let's not waste anymore time," Kibou closed his eyes and silence fell over the arena.

"…" We all held our breath, tense about what was about to come next.

*BOOM!*

Kibou's eyes shot open and the spot he stared at was struck with lightning, Shiri's position.

Shiri's arm turned to stone and she knocked the lightning away. Before Shiri could retract her arm, Kibou appeared in front of her and kicked her down to the floor.

As Shiri fell, Kibou's fingers became sharp blades and he slashed down at Shiri.

Fire appeared at Shiri's hands and she waved at Kibou.

He quickly performed a spinning motion and retreated away from the flames. The moment his feet touched the floor, the metal floor bent and knocked Kibou up into the air.

Shiri formed a ghostly revolver in her hands and took aim on Kibou.

*Plink!*

Several bullets fired at Kibou. However, his aura burst and knocked the bullets away. Kibou's feet touched the floor once again.

This time, several balls of energy circled around him while his eyes slowly grew brighter and brighter.

Kibou waved his hand and all of the energy spheres rocketed towards Shiri.

Shiri took a step back and braced herself. "…!"

*Boom!*

She raised the metal floor and shielded herself from two of the seven blasts. As the other five came at her from her other sides, Shiri shot at two of them.

Two blasts dispelled into tiny energy particles. Shiri's arms turned to metal and she knocked the rest of the blasts away with a punch.

Shiri began to pull back and turn her arms back to normal. It was at that moment that Kibou suddenly appeared in front of her. "…!"

*Crash!*

Grabbing her by the head, Kibou slammed Shiri into the floor, creating a large dent. Kibou kicked Shiri up into the air and blasted energy right at her face.

"Gah!" Shiri was blown back and knocked off of the glass barrier, crashing to the arena floor.

Shiri, injured and out of breath, forced herself to her feet. Her eyes glared into Kibou's calm face.

"I'm pretty disappointed," Kibou stared at Shiri. "For having the ability that I created, you somehow can't even put up a good fight. Your motives for winning must not be that great..."

"…!" Hearing the last few words seemed to make Shiri snap. "SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"

Energy burst from Shiri's body and various elements began to spiral around her. "I'LL MURDER YOU!"

"Now, that's no way to talk..." Kibou shook his head. His aura of energy amplified as well. "Talking like that will get you killed..."

"This battle might go on for awhile..." Luna murmured.

Neptune nodded. "Yup, so get your popcorn and 3D glasses ready!"

I glanced over at Neptune. "Are you suggesting that it'll turn into a Michael Bay movie?"

"That's not even possible," Neptune smiled. "This isn't a film! It's a story!"

"Can you talk like a normal person for once?" Noire shot back at Neptune.

"Can you guys shut up so that I can watch this battle?" Blanc glared up at us.

"I agree," Vert said her opinion. "It's an interesting battle."

"Just try to focus on the fight," Brindle advised us.

"Or take a nap like Uzume and Plutia," Angel nodded to the two girls that had fallen asleep.

"Yeah, I got it..." Letting out a sigh, I turned back to the fight.

Raising a hand, multiple elements burst from Shiri and blasted towards Kibou.

Kibou just shook his head and sighed. "Come on. This is just getting sa—"

Before Kibou was allowed to finish his sentence, the blast split into multiple and took aim on Kibou from multiple directions.

"Gh!" Kibou gritted his teeth and his aura burst once again, dispelling the blasts.

Seeing that Kibou was trying to recover, Shiri pointed her revolver at Kibou and pulled the trigger.

*Bang!*

He quickly reacted by dodging to the side, the bullet grazed his cheek and ricocheted of the wall.

"Forget this," Kibou's energy flared high into the sky. "I'm ending this right now..."

The energy all turned into a large fox with nine tails. It's bloodshot red eyes glared down at Shiri.

"GROOOAR!"

Letting out a roar, the fox formed a ball of energy at it's mouth and blasted it towards Shiri, shooting like a bullet.

The metal quickly formed into a barrier in front of Shiri, shielding her from the powerful blast.

After the blast had thrashed against Shiri's metal barrier and disappeared, she hopped over the barrier. Following that she fired several bolts of elements aimed at the fox.

As the fox knocked them away, Shiri formed a ball of energy in her hands, sapping away at the energy around.

"GROOAHH!"

The fox lunged towards her while she formed the energy. As it readied itself to bite Shiri's body, she stepped out of the way.

Before the fox turned, she drove the ball of energy into the fox's head.

We watched as the fox's head slowly became distorted and the ball's energy veiled over the fox, vaporizing it.

Her attention turned back to Kibou and fired several bolts of magic aimed at him.

Kibou switched his positioning and hooked a kick that knocked all of the bolts away.

As Kibou pulled his kick back, Shiri appeared in front of him, accompanied by a pair of knives.

*Shk*!

Tackling him to the floor, Shiri drove both knives into his heart. Blood spurted out from his chest and he fell to the floor, the blue aura fading away.

"Haa...haaa..." Shiri staggered to her feet, struggling to stand. She took a final glare at him and spat blood onto his face. "T-That's what you get..."

Shiri then turned to Harez. "W-What's my—"

"You spat on my face because of what?"

We all turned our attentions back to the corpse of Kibou. Except Kibou was alive.

He picked himself off of the arena floor, the blood still leaking from his body.

"Gh!" Kibou yanked the knives from his chest, the blood began to spill. "I'm going to finish this fight right. I'm not going to die so pitifully..."

Shiri's had a glare fixated on Kibou. Her teeth and fists were clenched tightly. "I'LL MAKE SURE YOU DIE!"

A pair of revolvers appeared in Shiri's hands and she began firing away at Kibou.

As much as she fired, Kibou would find a way to evade the bullets and dodge the one after. Bullet after bullet Shiri fired, though it was to no avail as no bullet managed to hit him.

"Damn you!" The last bullets left Shiri's revolvers and she threw them to the floor.

"How about we finish this fairly now?" Kibou asked.

"FUCK YOU!"

Several pairs of throwing knives appeared in Shiri's hands this time. She threw the first set towards Kibou.

He stepped out of the way. "Oh come on. Do you really think you'll get me with those th—Agh!"

Just as the knives passed Kibou, their trajectory snapped to him and stabbed him at his side.

Kibou chuckled. "Maybe you're more clever than I thought..."

"JUST DIE ALREADY!"

Shiri threw the rest of the knives at Kibou, all aimed right at his head.

With the little strength he had, Kibou dodged several of the knives. As they turned back and more took aim on him, he kicked at one and caught it.

*Clang!*

In a circular spin, Kibou smacked all of the knives to the floor. "…!"

*Crash!*

As he tossed his knife to the floor, he found Shiri right in front of him again.

Shiri tackled him to the floor and followed by pummeling his face with her fists, blood staining her.

After several rounds of smashing her fists into his face, Shiri rose to her feet and held a blast inches away from Kibou's distorted face.

"Just die already..."

However, Kibou smiled before mouthing a word, one that none of us could make out. But it was a word, that made Shiri go cold.

Her eyes were wide in terror and her body was trembling.

Her teeth gritted. "JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!"

The blast exploded, vaporizing the First Ruler and blowing Shiri back.

"…"

For a second, nobody moved. The arena was quite, without a single movement.

"…" But then, Shiri wobbled to her feet, out of breath but alive. Her gaze was on Harez. "J-Just...tell me..."

Harez wore a bright smile. "Anything for ye, lass! Yer part of the Sorcerers now! I hope that's okay for ya!"

A faint smile appeared on Shiri's face. "Y-Yeah..."

Harez then looked up at us, the people sitting in the stands. "Alright! Ya'll get down here! It's time to get to yer dorms!"

We all followed Harez's instructions. Filing into a line, we made our way down to the arena floor. Harez faced us. "The lot of ya who know where yer goin' are gonna show these newcomers to their new homes!"

We nodded and divided into four groups, each representing one of the factions.

The groups finished dividing and I scanned the groups.

Shiri, Luna and Yami were heading with the Sorcerers.

The Researchers had Plutia, Uzume, Vert and Blanc.

The Bladers, besides Neptune and I, were joined by Brindle, Angel and Noire.

Sadly, nobody worth noting was in the Gunners' group.

I let out a sigh and turned to Neptune. "Alright. Let's get going..."

Without anymore words, we all began to make our way to our districts.


	8. Chapter 7

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd liek to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 7]**

A long, wooden hallway was the way our Bladers group was traveling down. A red carpet was draped over the hall's wooden floors and rows of various stone statues of swordsmen lined the walls.

Neptune and I led the way to the district while the newcomers followed.

"Sigi, we have an issue!" Neptune tugged on my sleeve.

Turning to her, I saw that worry was written on her face. "What do you mean we have an issue? We've only been here for a day!"

"We forgot to introduce ourselves to Shiri!" Neptune said.

"How is that exactly an issue?" I wondered.

"Well, we introduced ourselves to all of the other main OCs of this story!" Neptune started. "But we never introduced ourselves to Shiri! She's the most important one!"

I released a heavy groan. "First, stop spoiling the story. People here are trying to read the story, so don't try to spoil the story. Plus, we didn't even introduce ourselves to Yami."

Neptune shook her head and flicked at my forehead. "Yami is the stereotypical rival character of the story! Shiri's one of the heroines! A character, not a drug..."

"Still, it doesn't really matter," I stated. "We have that event tonight, so we can introduce ourselves to her there, tonight."

Neptune sighed. "I guess... Still, it's been seven chapters..."

I poked her at her stomach. "Just try not to be self-aware..."

Pushing the doors open, it opened to reveal the common room of the Bladers.

The common room was a large room filled with bookshelves and many armchairs, carpeted by red. There was also a board hanging on a wall, displaying the top ten members of the district.

An elevator was on another side of the room. Basically, the elevator led up to the various parts of the district.

As all of the newcomers filed in, the first thing they saw was Andy standing in front of the other Blader members. He was going over the rules for the district and the daily process.

Nodding to us, we quickly joined the group surrounding Andy.

"Since the newcomers have finished their testing, and probably a good few of you didn't listen, I'll be going over the rules again," Andy said.

Hearing this caused many of the district members to let out groans. But Andy simply shook his head. "I don't want to hear any whining. This is all we're doing today anyways. Tomorrow should be the day you all start your complaining.

"First, this is the Bladers District. Right now, we're all standing in the common room. That elevator will take you up to three different floors. There's a floor for the guys and one for the girls. The highest floor is the training field. Unless you're dumb, there's no reason for me to explain what that's used for.

"There are three main rules to follow. Rule one is that you have to participate in the morning training drills. If you don't, not only will you lose your morning meal card but you'll also get a strike for every session missed. If you miss a certain number of times, you'll be taken to the Doll Room for a day. Adding onto that, the—"

"What's the Doll Room?" A newcomer asked.

The question caused many of us to become tense. Asking that question was the last thing anybody would want to do.

Unless you wished to lose your identity...

Andy turned a hard gaze to the newcomer. "Kid, you don't want to know. All you need to know is that it's the last place you want to end up in..."

After the boy gulped hard, Andy turned back to face everyone. "Now then, the second rule. Here, we have a bi-weekly evaluation test to see how far you've come. Basically, you have to keep up with your training. If you don't show any improvement during the evaluation, then that'll be another strike to get yourself into the Doll Room. Though, if you rank first on the bi-weekly evaluation, then there will be a reward.

"Now, the last rule..." Andy's face grew a smirk as he turned to me. "Anyone here in this district that is at the age of sixteen or older will be required to attend the Hades Tournament."

"What!?"

"H-He's joking, r-right!?"

"N-No way!"

While whispers of worry filled the common room, my smirk met Andy's. "The more the merrier! Bring it on."

"Alright, quit your whining!" Andy boomed. "Unless all of you want to head to the Doll Room!"

"…" Hearing Andy's threat, everyone instantly became quiet.

"Good," Andy let out a sigh. "Now, you all have a schedule that you'll have to follow and remember. Not following this schedule could land you in the Doll Room also. Basically, the schedule on weekdays starts with your morning drills. After that, you get an hour for chatting and breakfast, followed up by your hour or two of classes.

"You'll come back here after that and get your meal cards for lunch and dinner. After that, the rest of the day is yours to do what you want. Just remember that you have a curfew of 10 o'clock and that you're required to wear your uniform. During weekends, you can wear whatever you want and do what you want. Do I make myself clear?"

The members all nodded.

Andy smiled. "Good. Now head off to your rooms and look for your assigned beds. Girls floor is on the third level, boys are on the second level."

Without any questions, the boys and girls began filing into the elevator. Surprisingly, it was able to squeeze all of us into it.

*Ding!*

Hearing the first ring from the elevator, the doors opened and I followed the other guys out of the elevator.

Feeling something clutching my hand, I looked back to see Neptune holding onto it. I smiled and slipped her hand from mine. "Don't worry. I'll see you later today."

Even though Neptune wore a sad expression, she did her best to smile. "Yeah..."

Waving goodbye to Brindle, Neptune, and Noire, the doors shut in my face. That left me with Angel.

Turning to examine the room, I saw everyone searching for their beds.

The giant room was made of concrete, dimly lit by a few light bulbs and rowed with many beds, nightstands beside them. Connecting to the room of beds was a bathroom, filled with rows of shower stalls, several toilets, and sinks.

As for the girls' floor, Neptune had told me it was pretty much the same. Except it was for girls.

I began my search for my bed. Starting at the top row, I began working my way down from the first bed at the edge of the room. Around the time I made it to the third row of the many beds, I found my name engraved on the wood of a nightstand.

"Haa..." I flopped down onto the springy mattress. It wasn't the best bed, but it was something.

After taking a few minutes to settle onto the bed, I rose back up and looked to see what was in the nightstand's cabinets.

Inside, I found a fresh change of clothes, some bandage tape, three meal cards and a silver watch—which allowed you to make contact with anyone in the school. There was also a free cabinet for my own stuff.

Taking off my bag, I began unpacking some of my belongings into the cabinet. Once I was finished unpacking, I slid my bag underneath the nightstand.

As I looked up, I found Angel looking down at me. "Yo, what's up?"

He shrugged. "I'm finished unpacking. What about you?"

I smiled and pulled out one of the meal cards, waving it for Angel to see. "I'm done, too. I'm gonna head down to the Community District to get some snacks before the event later starts."

Angel stared at me, puzzled. "What event?"

I smiled. "It's the event that welcomes newcomers. And it's also the event that lets you enter into the Hades Tournament."

Angel nodded. "Can I come with you?"

"Hm?" My eyes met his. "Sure. Are you going to buy some snacks, too?"

"Yup," Angel said. "I'm going to get some muffins."

"Cool," I pulled the watch from the cabinet and pulled up Neptune's contact. I quickly texted her, asking if she wanted to join.

"Is that Neptune girl coming with you?" Angel asked.

I shrugged and slipped the watch on. "I dunno. Probably, as long as I buy for her and offer some pudding."

"Alright. I'll go get my stuff then," Angel then hurried back to his bed, five away from mine. Strapping his watch on and grabbing a meal card, Angel returned to my side. "Let's get going."

With a nod, I led the way to the elevator and clicked back to the first floor.

As soon as the elevator door opened, Angel followed me out of the Bladers District, making our way to the Community District.

*Beep!*

The second we stepped into the Community District, my watch chimed a quick tune. Looking down at it, I found that Neptune had responded.

 **Here RN! Get 2 Pudding Store b4 I have 2 come find u!**

"Well, I know where Neptune is now..." I let out a sigh and turned to Angel. "We're heading off to the pudding store..."

A faint smile formed on his face. "Sounds right. Now, let's get going."

"Yeah..."

Upon arrival a few minutes later, we found Neptune shooting us piercing glares. "What took you so long? I've been starving for hours!"

My face showed its surprise. "Neptune, you just texted me a few minutes ago. Plus, you ate that giant thing of pudding two or so hours ago."

Neptune shook her head. "It doesn't matter! I run on pudding! Right now, my fuel is as low as your life!"

"Wow, shooting low blows..." I let out a sigh. "Look, I'll buy you some pudding. But you better stop whining!"

"Alright!" Neptune suddenly perked up. "Thanks, Sigi!"

I turned to Angel before I reached the doors to the pudding store. "You want any pudding?"

Angel shook his head. "No, I'm good."

"Suit yourself," with a shrug, I led the way into the pudding store, letting Angel wait outside. A bell rang and an old lady turned to smile at us.

"Oh! Sigi, Neptune! How are you two doing?" The elder asked.

We both smiled at her and chorused, "We're fine, thank you!"

"That's good!" She remained smiling. "Remember, if you need anything, don't be shy and ask!"

We nodded before walking off to a part of the pudding store. After years of attending the Academy of Hades, coming here became a tradition for Neptune—as well as dragging me along with her. In all the years we'd been in the store, it hadn't changed in the slightest.

The small shop was lit by white fluorescent lights, reflecting off the shining blue floors. Throughout the shop were several aisles filled with many varieties of pudding. Whatever flavor you liked, it was a pudding flavor at this shop.

There was even an eggplant-flavored pudding. Yup, that's a thing because Neptune once tried it and nearly died. Mixing eggplants, the thing she hated the most, with pudding—the thing she loved the most in the world—made for a traumatizing experience.

"Sigi, what pudding are you getting?" Neptune, who had been looking through the various puddings, turned her attention to me.

I shrugged as I began looking at the varieties of puddings. "I... don't know..."

"But I don't know either!" Neptune whined. "C'mon! You have to pick!"

"Hmm..." I quickly made my way over to the elder. "We're stuck. Can you suggest us anything?"

The lady chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day where Neptune wouldn't know what pudding to choose!"

I shrugged. "Life's full of surprises, isn't it?"

"Here," the lady pulled out three different cups of pudding. One was colored brown, another red mixed with white and one that was white. "These are the new puddings that we received just yesterday."

I found myself fixated on them. "What kind are they?"

The elder nodded, pointing to the brown one. "This one is a brown sugar flavor."

I nodded to the red and white one. "That one?"

"Candy cane."

"Alright," my eyes shifted and rested on the white cup. "And that one?"

"I'm not sure myself," the old lady admitted. "The people who shipped it simply said that they're all random flavors. They could taste like anything..."

It was at that moment that a grin came to my face. "I'll take that one."

"Alright," the elder produced another white pudding cup. "Are you going to pay with Credits or with your meal card?"

I pulled out a small pouch. "Credits."

After paying for the two pudding cups, I walked back over to Neptune and tossed her one of the cups.

She stared and sniffed at it. "What flavor is this? This better not be eggplant again..."

"It's not," I told. "Honestly, I don't know what flavor it is."

Neptune's pupils shot up to me. "What do you mean you don't know?! You bought it!"

"Yeah, but the flavors are randomized," I responded. "She told me that the flavors could be anything."

"Oh," Neptune shrugged and pulled the seal off. "Alright. I guess we'll see what it is."

"We'll see..." I also pulled off my seal. Honestly, I wanted her to get an eggplant flavor again.

Biting into mine wasn't anything special. "This doesn't even have a taste to it..."

"Bummer," Neptune patted my back. "Maybe I'll get something better."

I nodded to her pudding. "Go for it..."

"Alright! Bottoms up!" Using the plastic spoon, she scooped up a large bit of the pudding and bit at it.

"…!" However, after the first bite, Neptune's face went stark white and she hurried to a trash can, spitting it out there. "Bleh! WHO WAS THE GENIUS WHO MADE THAT A FLAVOR!?"

"What's wrong?" I walked over to Neptune while she continued to spit into the trash can. "What flavor did you get?"

Neptune looked back up at me, tears staining her eyelids. That probably was a dead giveaway. "I got that dumb eggplant flavor again!"

"Oh..." I let out a laugh. "That's some great luck you've got."

"Shut up!" Neptune began punching at my shoulder.

"But I bought you pudding. So now you have to stop complaining," I told her.

"That's not fair! I got a gag!" Neptune claimed.

"It doesn't matter," I waved goodbye to the lady. "We're leaving, and you're not allowed to complain."

As I walked out of the shop, I heard Neptune running after me. "YOU'RE SO MEAN!"

Coming outside, I found Angel skipping rocks from a small puddle of water. "Come on, dude! Are you really that bored?"

"I don't know what you're whining about," Angel shrugged as he tossed his rock back to the ground. "I spent my time sitting out here while you and Neptune were eating pudding."

"Yeah, and he made me wanna die!" We both turned to see an angry Neptune step out of the store, casting me another glare. "Thanks a lot, Sigi!"

"I didn't know that the pudding would taste like that!" I defended myself. "Look, we're going to go buy some more food anyways, so I'll make it up with that, alright?"

"Mm..." Even though Neptune pouted, she sighed and returned to her usual smile. "I guess..."

"Alright," I looked back at Angel. "You in? The plan's to get some snacks and then head off to the event."

"Sure," Angel gave a nod. "But are you two entering the tournament?"

Neptune let out a laugh. "Of course! Now, let's get some snacks!"


	9. Chapter 8

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd liek to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 8]**

After purchasing some snacks, Neptune and Angel had followed me to the Hades Building and up to the BSA room, which had been converted to a party room.

It was now filled with multiple long tables, a taller table where the district leaders, various staff along with Victor sat at and the tables were in a circular formation, surrounding a large golden goblet filled with water, a knife resting beside it.

All the tables were also filled with spreads of many varieties of foods, a plate, and silverware, in front of each chair.

"Oh, hey! Neptune, Sigi, Angel!" Hearing a voice from a table, we found Uzume sitting with Plutia, Vert, and Blanc. The three of us rushed to join them.

While Angel and Neptune began making conversation with the others, I took the time to examine the other tables.

Yami had his own table to himself. Shiri was at her own table, surrounded by many girls and guys who were pestering her.

Though many were here, Brindle, Noire, and Luna still weren't here yet.

"Sigi, what's up?" As if on cue, Luna suddenly appeared, taking a seat at our table. "Where are you looking at?"

I shrugged. "Actually, I was looking for you."

"Oh, sorry," Luna offered a smile.

I shrugged. "You're fine."

"Hey," Brindle found her way to our table, accompanied by Noire. They both took their seats. "What'd we miss?"

"Not much," I said. "We just got here, too."

"So, how were your dorms?" Luna asked us.

"They were the same as last year," Neptune said with a sigh. "The beds were the same..."

"I had such a comfy bed..." Plutia dragged out.

"It was really quiet and comfy," Blanc added.

"Our beds allowed us to adjust to our own personal settings," Vert said. "It was quite wonderful."

I looked over at my little sister. "Luna, what about you? How was being in the same room as Shiri?"

Luna shrugged. "She didn't really talk much. She was pretty quiet and kept to herself. The only person I saw her talking with was Jumon."

"Oh yeah!" Neptune turned to me. "Sigi, let's go introduce ourselves to her before the event starts!"

"Why do you care so much about this?" I asked. "Maybe she doesn't feel like talking with us."

"But what if we manage to get her to join our team before we enter the Hades Tournament?" Neptune questioned. "That would be a game changer! We'll have someone who is strong enough to beat the first Ruler!"

I let out a sigh. "Alright, fine. Let's go..."

We rose from our seats and made our way to Shiri's table. As she noticed us, the people around her became quiet and stared up at us.

Shiri stared up at us. "What do you two need?"

"Can we speak with you?" I started. "Just the three of us?"

Shiri smiled. "Sure."

She followed us away from the tables; we ended up in a corner of the room. Shiri faced us. "So what do you two need?"

"Well, we actually wanted to just introduce ourselves first!" Neptune said. "I'm Neptune!"

Shiri kept her smile. "It's good to meet you. What about you?"

As she addressed me, I returned with a nod. "I'm Sigi. Good to meet you."

"Good to meet the both of you," Shiri continued to smile. "If you didn't know yet, my name is Shiri. Anyways, is that all you two needed from me, or is there something else?"

Neptune shook her head. "We got some other things we need, too."

Shiri stared at us blankly. "As in?"

I started, "First, we want to know if you want to sit with us. Y'know, instead of being crowded by all of those people."

Shiri let out a heavy sigh. "Please. They've been bugging me ever since I sat down at a table."

Without realizing, a smile had found its way to my face. _Even if she is the Second Ruler's daughter, she's also still a person at heart. Just like the rest of us._

"Cool!" Neptune and Shiri exchanged high fives. "But we still have a request for you? Do you mind, gal pal?"

Shiri shrugged. "I'm all ears."

"Well, you're entering the Hades Tournament, right?" Neptune asked.

Shiri nodded. "Yup."

"Do you want to join our group?" I asked.

At this, Shiri's eyes widened. "You two are going to be in a group?"

"Yepperoni!" Neptune shrugged. "I don't really have a goal for winning the tournament, only Sigi. But if you have a goal, you two can decide it if we end up winning."

"…" Shiri paused for a moment, thinking. She then formed another smile. "Sure, I'm up for it."

"Nep yeah!" Neptune exchanged high fives with me before doing the same with Shiri. "Awesome! Now we got our team of three! Right before the entries started too!"

"I'll be relying on you two, got it?" Shiri stared at us with a serious expression.

Neptune and I nodded in unison. "You got it!"

"Good," Shiri let out a laugh. "Now, can we go to your table and talk? I'm sick of those people bothering me with their dumb questions..."

"Sure."

With those last words, we led Shiri back to our table, many gazes fixated on us.

We arrived back at our table, all of them were staring at us. Though, most of them were staring at Shiri.

"Sigi," Noire looked over at us, "why is Shiri here?"

"Because she's with us now!" Neptune answered for me. "It's cause we're that awesome!"

I looked over at Noire. "Basically what she said, except it's actually not because we're awesome. It's because she's going to be in our group when we attend the Hades Tournament."

"Wait, you mean the three of you are going to be in a group together?" Brindle asked.

"Yeah, all three of us," Shiri confirmed.

Angel shook his head. "That's so not fair. Shiri, Neptune, and Sigi on one team is like trying to beat the First Ruler, except your whole body is crippled."

"But aren't you at least going to enter?" I asked him. "You said you were going to enter the tournament."

"I will," Angel let out a groan. "It's just that I'll probably have to get a partner to even be able to stand a chance against you three..."

"I think you'll do fine," I said. "Considering you managed to live after that bullet storm, I think you'll do fine."

"Hey, cheer up!" Neptune said. "Maybe the author will make it to where you win the Hades Tournament and you get what you want!"

"Don't forget about us," Noire piped up. "We're in this tournament too!"

"If you keep talking like that, you'll let your guard down and I'll kick your ass," Blanc said.

"It's no guarantee that you'll win, anyways," Vert said. "With so many people attending each time, it'll still actually be extremely hard for you to win."

"Yeah! But Uzume is gonna do her best and win!" She showed her best serious face, though it just came out as a cute one.

"I'm gooing to enter too..." Plutia added.

"We'll just have to see who ends up winning," I formed a grin. "But I call first dibs on beating on Victor's smug face if we end up winning! I've been waiting for that for so long!"

"Sorry, but I get first dibs," Shiri said.

"Look, we'll decide when we get to that point," Brindle let out a sigh. "Let's just enjoy the ceremony."

"Alright..." We let out sighs as the anthem for the Rouge played. Everyone became silent and turned to face Victor, who was now standing beside the goblet.

As the anthem ended, Victor smiled. "Students of the Hades Academy, welcome! To all of you that are new, I wish the best of luck to you all and hope you can make your dreams become realities here!

"If any of you are going to be entering into the Hades Tournament this year, please rise from your seats and step towards the goblet!"

Many of us rose from our seats and did as instructed.

I looked around. Several hundred students from each of the districts would be attending, even the district leaders.

Victor took the moment to examine all of the students who would be attending. "Now, when I call your name, step forward and take the knife. With the knife, draw a bit of your blood and let it seep into the goblet. Once your blood has spread through the water, that will be the moment when you pledge yourself to entering the tournament. Once you're in, you can't come out. Do I make myself clear?"

He stared at all of us. Nobody shifted from their positions. "Alright. So be it... Let's begin."

"Sigi Aurum!"

Hearing my name first, I smiled and stepped up to the goblet. Victor offered me the knife. "Take your time if you need it..."

"I don't need to take my time..." I swiped the knife from his hand and stepped up to the goblet.

"…" The whole room fell quiet as I held the blade at my finger. Biting my lip, I pressed the blade into my skin. The searing pain filled my finger for a second before the blood began trickling out.

As a trickle of blood made its way to the tip of my finger, I hovered it over the goblet's clear water.

The blood then dripped down and splashed into the water, rippling it and slowly turning its clearness to red.

"Sigi is now a contestant of the Hades Tournament! May the odds be ever in your favor!" Victor announced.

The room exploded into cheers as I stepped back, wiping the blood from my finger.

The rest of the participants repeated the same process that I did. Eventually, the last contestant let their blood trickle to the water and all of the entries had been recorded.

After another round of cheers, Victor quickly silenced them before beginning to speak. "Now, in honor of the participants, we'll celebrate with the spread of a feast laid out before you all! Please enjoy yourselves!"

"Welcome to all of the newcomers and congratulations to all of the Hades Tournament participants!"


	10. Chapter 9

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd liek to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 9]**

"Geez..." I flopped down onto my bed, completely drained.

After the ceremony feast, Neptune had dragged us all out to the Community District to do some dumb things. In the process, Noire and Vert had managed to get drunk. After that, I had taken Luna back to her district, just before things starting going downhill.

It was now around midnight and I was sore and tired.

I shook my head. "Can't wait for the morning drills tomorrow..."

I pulled the blankets over myself and closed my eyes. _I have to win... I have to see my family..._

That was the last thought I had before sleep took over.

* * *

*GET YOUR SCRAWNY ASSES UP! IF YOU CAN DO THAT, GET DRESSED AND HEAD TO THE TRAINING FIELD!*

"Gah!"

"W-What!"

"Ow!"

At the sound of Andy's voice blaring over the intercom, many of the newcomers fell out of their beds, completely shocked.

I simply rubbed at my eyes before rolling out of bed and getting my uniform on. Grabbing my weapon, I followed the others up to the fourth floor.

Upon arriving onto the fourth floor, we found Andy leaning against a wall, staring directly at us. "Well, it's good to see that some of you know how to get up. Now, let's see who can't do the same..."

We filed into the room. For the next five minutes, we waited for any more students to arrive. After a newcomer barely made the five-minute mark, Andy sealed off the elevator door.

I took that moment to examine what had changed about the room. Honestly, nothing had really changed about the fourth floor or any of the floors.

The room was still a large stadium arena, with a simulation field, though not as advanced as the BSA's simulation field. Frankly, the room hadn't changed at all.

"Alright, whoever didn't make it will be getting a strike and won't get breakfast either," Andy turned to us. "I'll be taking roll now. Whoever doesn't give a response will be counted late, meaning you'll be punished. So, pay attention..."

Andy began to call out our names. Surprisingly, we were only missing a dozen students. Usually, it'd be several dozens. This time, it was just one dozen.

"Not a bad start to the year..." Andy smiled and stared at us all. "But let's see how much longer you can keep it up.

"Now, onto the training. We'll start off easy this time," Andy stepped onto a podium, looking down on us. "Each of you will be entered into a simulation against an endless number of Gunners. Your goal is to eliminate a minimum of at least fifty in fifteen minutes. Any extra you kill in that time will go towards your score for the district rankings. If all of you can do this, then I might not throw the rest of the drills at you today. Hell, maybe I'll even give each of you an extra meal card."

I noticed that Neptune had formed a wide grin at Andy's offer. "I got this!"

"We'll go in alphabetical order," Andy explained. "While one person is doing this, the rest of you will watch from the sidelines. If I catch you not paying attention, that'll be a strike to get into the Doll Room."

Everyone nodded once more; Andy did the same. "Right. Now, line up. We'll start."

"… Hm?" I glanced down at my shoulder to find Neptune resting her head there. I nudged at her. "Hey, Neptune. You can't fall asleep now."

"H-Hm...?" She rubbed at her eyes as I pulled her into line with me. "Why...?"

"Because we're about to start," I said in a hushed tone. "If Andy catches you asleep, you won't get your morning pudding!"

"Crap!" Hearing that caused Neptune to snap wide awake and focus. "Alright! I'm up!"

Letting out a relieved sigh, I turned back to face the student in the simulation, waiting for my turn.

* * *

"Sigi Aurum," Andy nodded to me. "It's your turn."

After many had gone, it was finally my turn.

The energy burst from the handle and formed the energy blade.

The arena around turned to a glass room. Perched on several platforms around the room were multiple, generic-looking Gunner members. There were also several surrounding me, guns all pointed right at my head.

I held my breath and tightly gripped my blade, prepared. "…"

"BEGIN!"

*Bang!*

At Andy's signal, the Gunners all fired their weapons at me. Without even thinking, I let my body fall to the ground. Bullets grazed past me and shot at the Gunners around, killing the ones surrounding me.

I quickly lunged forward, barely avoiding the next round of bullets. As my feet touched the glass, I kicked up a nearby pistol and began firing away at the Gunners.

Several had their heads blown off, while others stumbled off their platforms and shattered into pieces when they hit the ground.

"…!"

The second I dropped the gun, another wave of Gunners materialized, weapons already aimed right at my head.

Jumping to my side, I avoided several shots and lunged towards the nearest Gunner.

As one of them rested their aim on my forehead, I lunged forward and sliced their arm off. While the blood flowed out, I finished the movement by cutting their head clean off.

Before the body fell, I grabbed it and began using it as a meat shield, blocking the incoming bullets.

Grabbing the body's grenade, I chucked it over the body, ricocheting off the glass and landing at the center of several Gunners, blowing them to pieces.

Grabbing another pistol, I spun around and fired at the Gunners' weapons, knocking them from their hands.

Using that as an opening, I stepped forward and drove my blade deep into one of the Gunners. Using my other hand, I fired at the other Gunners, blowing their heads off as I pulled my blade from the Gunners' body.

I tossed the gun to the glass floor and watched as it disappeared. Looking up, I found several dozen waves of Gunners staring me down, all of the rifles aimed right at my forehead.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped back and took a stance. "…"

"Open fire!"

All at once, the bullets were sprayed at me.

Letting my adrenaline run, I began reflexively deflecting and dodging the many bullets.

As soon as they stopped firing, I picked up a nearby grenade. Just before the Gunners snapped their aim to me, I chucked the grenade right at the center of their group.

*BOOM!*

Before any of them had time to run, the grenade went off and they were all blown to bits.

Several more appeared to take their place. As they began firing weapons at me, I dashed forward, avoiding the bullets. I stepped forward and drove my blade through one, following up by grabbing their pistol and blowing off the heads of the others.

I let out a breath as a single Gunner formed. I groaned. "Of course..."

Standing there was a copy of Deadeye. Though her name was Tsuki, we all called her Deadeye Tsuki, the leader of the Gunners.

She quickly drew a pair of pistols, the laser dots already on my forehead. _Good thing this is only a simulation..._

"Die."

*Bang!*

I rolled out of the way of her sights, barely avoiding her bullets. "…!"

Before I had time to even look at her, I hopped back, barely avoiding the next two bullets.

I then spun my head to face her, just in time to see two bullets aimed right at my face. Keeping my eyes on her, I ducked before bursting into a sprint towards her.

Deadeye took a step back and focused her aim on me. Before she fired, I lunged forward.

"Gh!"

Just before my blade made contact with her, a sudden pain hit my chest, crumpling me to the ground.

Looking up, I found the gun pointed right at my forehead; Deadeye's eyes showed no emotion. "Die."

*Bang!*

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the shot, but it never came. Opening it, I found that the simulation was over. I had killed sixty-three Gunners.

As I rose to my feet, I realized my wound was no longer there. I turned to face Andy, who was smiling.

"I didn't think you'd get to the part of the simulation where you fought Tsuki, but I guess you did. Though, you didn't do so great..."

I let out a sigh. "I don't care. I'm just glad that I completed the exercise..."

"Here," Andy handed me my meal card. "That's yours. Once we're done, you can be off."

"Thanks." Nodding, I got back in the line, waiting for the last few Bladers to finish.

* * *

"So, how were your days so far?" I asked everyone as we sat at the table, waiting for our food.

After the simulations had ended, we had ended up going out to eat. We had ended up at a restaurant that I had picked, managing to find the rest of our friends there as well. So, we sat at a large table.

"It's been alright," Luna shrugged. "All Shiri and I really did was study about magic so far. But it's the stuff we already know."

"That simulation was too boring," Brindle said with a sigh. "After a while, I picked up the pattern of those Gunners."

"Same here," Angel agreed. "Even though I let them shoot me for a good while, it was still boring."

Noire shrugged. "To be fair, it is the first day."

"All I did was hit a baaag..." Plutia whined. "My arms are tired now..."

Blanc shrugged. "It was just boring, hitting that thing over and over again."

"I agree," Vert said. "While some of us that couldn't use weapons were put into groups where we recorded test data, us that could use weapons were put into the testing."

"Ours was as easy as pie!" Neptune said. "It was pretty easy! Plus, we got two meal cards cause we did so well!"

"By the way," I turned to Shiri. "You said that you wanted to talk to us about something, right?"

Shiri smiled before nodding. "Yeah, but I want to do it after we eat..."

We stared at Shiri in wonder. "Do what?"

Shiri stared at Neptune and me, wearing a serious expression. "If you want me on your team, prove yourself. Beat me in a battle."

Neptune and I exchanged looks before grinning.

"We thought you'd never ask!"


	11. Chapter 10

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd liek to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 10]**

After eating, we met up in the BSA. While everyone else watched from the stands, Neptune and I stood on the arena floor, facing Shiri.

Shiri's amber eyes locked onto us. "If you really want me to join your team, prove that you are worthy. If you cannot beat me in battle, I won't join. If you can, then I'll join your team. It's that simple."

Neptune formed a wide grin, pulling out her dual swords. "Alright! Bring it on!"

I drew my sword's handle and let the energy form into the blade. "We have to win."

Shiri nodded as she formed a smile. "Hopefully you two will provide me with an interesting battle..."

"Yeah, same here," a smile slowly formed on my face. "This should be fun..."

"Yeah." Letting out a laugh, Shiri took a deep breath, closing her eyes. As she did, the energy around began to travel to her and form an aura around her. It was the same aura that she had when she had fought the First Ruler.

"…!"

*Boom!*

Shiri's eyes shot open and the golden aura surrounding her exploded into a fiery aura; various elements danced and circled around the aura. Her eyes were glowing an ice blue once again.

"Defeat me, that's all you have to do," Shiri said.

Neptune and I prepared ourselves. "It's not every day you get to fight the Second Ruler's daughter..."

"It doesn't matter! This will make things interesting!" Neptune continued to grin. "Bring it!"

Shiri nodded, raising both hands. As she did, the metal of the arena's floor became contorted. "Then let us begin..."

*BOOM!*

* * *

 **[Third Person]**

Shiri pulsed out energy, shooting a jagged rock from beneath Neptune and Sigi.

As they were knocked into the air, Shiri slammed her hands into the floor, pulsing out more energy. Instantly, several water and fire dragons formed and made their way to Shiri's two opponents.

At the same time, Shiri's two opponents recovered. Neptune quickly grabbed Sigi and tossed him towards Shiri. She then followed by warping to Shiri's location, just before the dragons collided and blew up.

"…!"

Sigi rolled to the floor. Quickly jumping back up, he sprinted towards Shiri and slashed at her.

Hopping back, Shiri was suddenly met by Neptune.

Neptune kicked Shiri to the floor and sliced at her.

However, Shiri rolled out of the way. Her arm then because coated in the metals of the earth as she swung at Neptune.

*Bang!*

Though Neptune raised her blades to block the strike, the force of the strike still managed to slam Neptune to the ground.

Shiri picked herself up, finding Sigi in front of her this time.

Sigi headbutted her, staggering her back. He then took the opening and slashed at her once again.

Reflexively, Shiri raised a rock barrier just before Sigi's blade could make contact with her. As Shiri hopped back and the rocky barrier was sliced in half, a cut of blood began trickling from her cheek.

Ignoring the cut, Shiri fired a blast of energy at Sigi.

*Boom!*

As he sliced it in half, the energy exploded and multiple elemental dragons slammed into Sigi, driving him into the floor.

Shiri raised a hand to finish him off. But she quickly jumped back, avoiding Neptune's sword.

Her attention switched to Neptune, who now only had one sword and a pistol.

*Bang!*

Neptune then began firing away at Shiri. Instead of dodging, Shiri stood her ground and began deflecting the bullets with her magic.

As Neptune ran out of bullets, Shiri fired several elemental bolts at Neptune while she tried reloading.

Like Shiri, Neptune also didn't dodge. She held her blade and knocked away the oncoming bolts of elements.

After swatting several away, Neptune knocked the last one away, only to be met by the sight of Shiri in front of her.

*Crash!*

Shiri grabbed Neptune and smashed her head into the floor. She then formed another blast of energy and fired it at Neptune from point-blank range. As the area around blew up, smoke and debris formed.

"Ha!" Sigi suddenly appeared from the created smoke and slashed at Shiri.

Sigi managed to land a cut on her just before Shiri stepped back. She then smashed her elbow into Sigi's jaw, crumpling him to the floor.

Before Sigi could grab his sword, Shiri blasted Sigi away, ricocheting him off of the glass.

Just as Shiri blasted a bolt of energy at him, Neptune suddenly warped in front of Shiri, kicking her to the floor.

As Shiri hit the floor, Neptune threw a punch at Shiri, jerking her face to one side. She then followed up by lifting Shiri back to her feet before headbutting her back down.

*Shk!*

Just before Neptune could kick Shiri, she was suddenly struck in the shoulder by an ice spike. While she staggered back, Shiri hopped to her feet and energy burst from her; a revolver appeared in her hand as well as several throwing knives.

*Bang!*

Shiri then took aim on Neptune and began firing at her.

Suddenly Sigi appeared jumped in front of Neptune and began knocking the bullets away with his energized longsword.

As the last bullet was deflected, Neptune followed Sigi and charged at Shiri.

Shiri threw the knives at them. Both of them dodged it before Sigi sliced them to pieces and lunged towards Shiri, slashing at her.

Shiri's arms became metal and she blocked the strike. Sigi then tossed his blade into the air.

Neptune, rolling over him, caught the blade and sliced at Shiri.

As deep gash appeared on Shiri's body, she knocked Neptune away.

Sigi then caught his blade and followed by kicking Shiri at her gut, knocking her to the floor.

*Shk!*

He pinned Shiri to the floor by driving his blade through her gut, making sure it didn't strike anywhere vital. The metal coating her arm disappeared.

"Haaa...haaa..." Sigi stumbled back to his feet, out of breath. "W-We win..."

"N-No..."

Shiri's aura flared and she rose back to her feet, pulling the blade from her gut. All of the wounds and cuts she once had were now gone.

"I-I..won't lose..."

Sigi let out a groan. "Oh... COME ON NOW! WHAT'S IT TAKE TO WIN!?"

"I'll end this now," Shiri raised a shaky hand and pulsed energy, blowing Sigi back.

*BOOM!*

"Agh!" His body smashed into the wall and fell to the ground.

"It's over," Shiri locked her aim on Sigi. As he struggled to get up, the various elements around her began moving faster, becoming a tornado of elements.

The tornado suddenly turned into a ball of energy that rested in Shiri's hands. "You lose, Sigi..."

"Gh...!" Sigi crumpled to the ground, too drained to force himself to stand. He stared at the ball in Shiri's hands. "D-Damn it!"

*Bang!*

As the blast escaped Shiri's hold and sped to Sigi, Neptune suddenly warped in front of Shiri, she now held her pistol. Neptune shot at Shiri's chest and followed up by stabbing her to the ground.

Taking her mind off of Shiri, she warped to Sigi before the blast hit him.

*BOOM!*

Debris and smoke exploded from the ball as it made contact.

"…" Shiri forced herself to her feet, watching the smoke.

"Gotcha!"

"…!"

*Shk!*

As Shiri heard the voice, Neptune suddenly appeared behind her, holding Sigi's energy sword.

Before Shiri could turn to her, Neptune drove the blade into Shiri's gut once again, twisting and turning it to let the pain burn.

As Neptune kicked Shiri to the floor, Sigi suddenly stepped up to her, holding Neptune's pistol.

*Bang!*

"A-Agh!" Shiri let out a cry of pain as Sigi used the last four bullets to hit her limbs.

Sigi threw the pistol back to Neptune and they stared at Shiri. "T-There! Do we win now!?"

Shiri's aura faded and she nodded, smiling. "Y-Yeah... You guys won..."

"Finally!" Neptune bumped her fist with Sigi's. "Still, you're really strong, Shiri! We barely managed to beat you! What's your power level? Is it over 9000?"

Shiri forced herself to laugh. "I dunno. Maybe..."

"I think you guys should head to the infirmary before you start chatting," Noire suggested as everyone followed her to the arena.

Sigi's body suddenly fell to the floor. Despite how tattered his clothes were and his condition, he still let out a laugh. "Y-Yeah..."

Before Sigi could do anymore, all of the energy left his body and he passed out.

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

I woke up, my vision stirred as my eyes slowly opened; everything looked blurry. The blur cleared and my vision focused.

Looking around, I found myself in the infirmary. Rows of beds lined the room, curtains pulled over each patient's space, bright fluorescent lights lined the ceiling and many were occupying the beds.

I turned to my side, wincing from my injuries. On the table beside the bed was a fresh change of my uniform and my weapon.

I smiled. "There's no way I'd have been able to wear that other uniform. Those were basically rags..."

Biting down, I turned back to my body. I then forced my arm to pull off the blanket draped over me, revealing my body.

My body was wrapped tightly in bandages and a gown was the only thing covering me.

Honestly, if I looked in a mirror right now, I would probably just see a mummy who just took a trip to the hospital.

Even though my body was still incredibly beaten and sore from the fight with Shiri, I forced myself to my feet, making my way to the fresh set of clothes.

As I finished getting the uniform on, I heard Neptune's voice. "Yo! Sigi, you alive?"

"…" I smiled as I clipped my sword on. Though, I didn't say anything. As quietly as I could, I made my way to a spot where nobody would be able to see if they walked in.

I held my breath and waited for Neptune to pull the curtain open. For extra effect, I left my gown on the floor and the bed sheets were in a mess.

"Dude, you in here?" Neptune pulled the curtain open, instead of hoping to find me in bed, she found the empty bed. "Oh, shoot! Don't tell me he went back without me!"

"…" I continued to watch Neptune, remaining hidden.

But then she did something peculiar.

Making her nobody was around, Neptune crept her way to my bed. "I guess it's okay to do this... Nobody will see it..."

I watched as Neptune crawled onto the bed and shoved her face into the pillow, sniffing it. "It still smells like him..."

She pulled the blankets over her and began cuddling the pillow that I had rested my head on.

I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing, but I was also interested to see what she was up to.

Eventually Neptune kicked the blankets off of her and hopped off of the bed. "Alright, I guess I should get going no—"

As she got ready to leave the room, I crept behind her. "Boo!"

"Gah!"

*Thud*

Neptune had jumped several inches off the floor and fallen onto the bed. She stared at me in shock for a moment. That's when she began blushing. "S-Sigi!? W-What did you see?!"

I shrugged, deciding to play things safe. "Not much. I just noticed that you were exiting my room. That's about it."

Neptune got right up in my face. "You swear you didn't see anything else?!"

I nodded. "Positive."

Neptune let out a sigh. "That's good. Anyways, are you at least feeling better?"

I shrugged. "There's still some pain here and there, but I should be fine."

"Good!" Neptune smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let's head on out! Shiri's waiting for you and she wants to talk to us about something."

I stared at her in wonder. "Do you know what it is?"

Neptune frowned, shaking her head. "Nope, not really! She said she wanted us all to be there when she said it."

"Alright, that's cool," I nodded my head to the exit. "What do you say about leaving this place?"

Neptune formed a grin. "Heck yeah! Let's get going!"

Following me out, Neptune and I made our way out of the infirmary room. Pushing open the door, we found Shiri and everyone else sitting in the waiting room. They smiled upon seeing us.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up..." Brindle grinned. "You've been out for about a month now."

My eyes widened. "What!? There's no way!"

"Sigi, you're soooo lucky..." Plutia commented. "I wish I was allowed to sleep that long..."

Noire placed her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, she's exaggerating. It's only been about three days."

I leaned against the wall. "Still, that's a pretty long time..."

"If it makes you feel better, I was in there for two days," Shiri said.

I let out a groan. "It would if I hadn't recovered slower than a girl..."

Shiri let out a laugh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring you down."

I let out a sigh, bowing my head. "You're fine... It's just that I was in there for longer than I would have liked..."

"Cheer up!" Neptune said. "I don't want to be sad when I hear Shiri's awesome announcement!"

"Announcement?" Angel turned to Shiri. "What is it?"

"Simple," Shiri smiled as she walked up to me. Like me, she was wrapped in tight bandages. She stuck out her hand. "I'll join your team, officially."

I formed a grin as I firmly shook Shiri's hand, Neptune doing the same. "Alright!"

"The tournament is at the end of the year," Shiri stated. "Though we have some time, we should try to spend as much time as we can learning how to work as a team and using that to our advantage."

I nodded. "We got until the end of the year. Let's do it!"


	12. Chapter 11

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd liek to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 11]**

 **[Luna]**

It had been a few days since Neptune and my brother had started training together with Shiri. Even though I tried telling him to take things easy so that his body could recover, that actually made him train harder for some reason.

I had just eaten dinner and had decided to head up to the Sorcerers' library floor to study. Since it was around the evening, people were either out hanging with their friends or—in Sigi's case—training way too much.

Instead, I chose to study quietly in the library.

"How are you, Luna?" Jumon asked.

I took my eyes off of the book I had been reading and looked up at Jumon. She smiled at me. "Well? Are you going to answer my question or just stare at me awkwardly?"

I let out a sigh before smiling. "No, it's nothing like that. I just wasn't expecting to see you, that's all."

She responded with a laugh. "That actually hurts my feelings a bit..."

Jumon pulled out the chair directly across from me and sat down. "Luna, please do tell how you've been. I want to know."

I soon found myself laughing. "You must be pretty desperate if you want to know how I've been..."

"That's not true at all," Jumon said. "Now, hurry up and tell me. Come on."

"Well, let's see..." I put a finger to my chin and let my mind process my recent past. "Well, I've been pretty good. I've been worried about Sigi though. He still hasn't fully recovered yet and he's already training again."

Jumon shook her head. "It's good to hear you're doing well, but I wouldn't worry about that brother of yours. I've seen him enough times to know he's capable of doing these things. He'll recover, don't worry about that. But do you know why he's doing all of this?"

I gave a nod. "Yeah, it's because of our parents. He really wants to see them again. Though, I never really met them..."

"Really?" Jumon rested her head on the palms of her hands. "You never met your parents?"

I shook my head. "I've only seen pictures of them. I think our mom's really pretty and Sigi kinda looks like our dad."

"Ah," Jumon smiled. "But you said 'again'. Did Sigi ever meet your parents?"

I nodded. "He was born four years before me. He spent the first four years with them. But right after I was born, we were taken away from them and grew up here with Jewel."

"It must have been hard on you..." Jumon placed her hand over mine, casting me a sympathetic look. "But it's because of that that you've grown into the person that you are today..."

"Yeah..." I did my best to smile. "But as long as I have my big brother with me, I'll be fine."

Jumon smiled. "Family is important after all."

I watched as she rose from her seat, looking down on me. "Luna, even if I do know this, I'm still going to compete in the Hades Tournament and do my best to win. Like you two, I also have dreams, y'know?"

I nodded. "I know..."

"Well," she placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

I gave one last nod before Jumon began to walk off. "Alright..."

Turning my attention back to my book, I let out a sigh. "What could your dream possibly be, Jumon...?"

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

*Bang!*

Neptune turned to me as she blasted the head off of one of the generic Bladers. "Sigi, switch!"

"I got it!" Driving my blade through one of the Gunners, I quickly pulled it out and tossed it up into the air.

Kicking away the Gunner, Neptune suddenly warped in front of me, catching my weapon and tossing me her pistol.

*Bang!*

Catching it, my attention spun to Shiri, who was fighting off several Bladers. I began firing at them, my aim snapping to the next as they shattered into pieces.

*BEEP!*

The alarm blared as the last person was killed. Letting out a sigh, I sat down on the dirty BSA arena floor. "That wasn't too bad..."

"Still, we could have done better," Shiri said, taking a seat beside me.

"I don't care!" Neptune lay down on the floor, resting her head on my legs. "I'm hungry!"

"You're not getting any food with that attitude," I said. "It wasn't that bad."

"I had like five of them on me at once!" Neptune snapped back.

"Well, you're going to have to get used to it," Shiri spoke up. "That's the kind of training we're going to have to do if we want to at least have a chance against the Third Ruler, Victor."

I turned to her. "How do you know? Do you know him?"

We watched as Shiri's nostrils flared, her teeth gritted and fists balled. "I don't need to know him. All you need to know is that he was never meant to be the Third Ruler. He's been deceiving the entire world! He wasn't chosen to be the Ruler!"

"…"

For a moment, we just let Shiri's rage boil while casting her sympathetic looks. I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, we didn't mean to press you for answers..."

"No..." Shiri shook her head. "You're fine. It's just that it pisses me off. But it's also one of the reasons I'm entered into this dumb tournament of his. If he really has the powers of the Ruler, then he must really have the power to grant any wish. One way or another, I'll fix this. Even if it takes my life..."

"Shiri..." We watched Shiri, the daughter of the Second Ruler.

"Hey," I stared into her eyes. "I don't know what happened before you came here nor do I know what your dreams are, but I promise we'll win this. Then, we'll make your dream a reality."

"Sigi..." Shiri stared back into my eyes, surprised by my words. "W-Why would you...?"

"Sigi, didn't you want to win?!" Neptune asked. "You wanted to see your parents, remember?"

I shook my head. "I don't care; I can wait. Whatever Shiri's wishes are, they're clearly more important than me and my selfish desires. I have to do what's right, and this is my decision..."

"… "

I noticed a tear drop hit the cold metal. I looked at Shiri to see her body trembling and tears streaming from the corners of her eyelids.

"T-Thanks, Sigi..." She looked back up at me. "T-Thank you... S-So, so much..."

She threw her arms around me and sobbed into my chest. I returned her hug with my own and let her sob quietly.

"I promise we'll make your dreams a reality..."

* * *

"Sigi, why are we heading to the Sorcerers District again?" Neptune asked once again.

I let out a sigh. "Because I promised I would spend a bit of time with Luna today."

"Shiri," Neptune turned to her, "are we going to get in trouble for going into your district?"

Shiri smiled. "No, you won't. Although the districts aren't the fondest of it, they don't mind it. So it should be fine."

"In all the years I've been here, I never knew you could do that," I let out a sigh.

"It's nothing big," Shiri shrugged. "It was in the handbook they gave us right before the year began."

"That reminds me," I turned back to Neptune and Shiri. "Why are you two tagging along with me?"

"Cause this is where my district is," Shiri answered. "I can't change that."

I looked over at Neptune. "And your reason?"

Neptune simply smiled brightly. "Because I want to see Luna!"

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head and returned to following Shiri. "Guess I can't stop you..."

As we walked, I looked around. We walked down a hallway that had a purple carpet rolled out. Like my district, there were various stone statues that lined the wooden walls. The only difference was that the statues were of various Sorcerers.

"Alright, here we are," Shiri nodded ahead to a wooden door.

Upon opening the door, we were met by the sight of the Sorcerers District's common room.

The gigantic room was filled with many armchairs, tables, shelves filled to the brim with books, lanterns for lighting and a fireplace with blue flames. The room had a purple rug and there were four blue balls of light. I assumed those led to the different parts of the district.

"Bro!" I was suddenly tackled to the floor. As the realization of it hit me, I looked to see that it was Luna, smiling happily. "You came!"

I patted her head. "Yup, I'm here."

"So, where are you two going?" Neptune asked as we rose to our feet.

"Actually, I wanted to spend some time with Sigi, alone," Luna said. She bowed her head. "Sorry, Neptune."

However, Neptune simply grinned. "Don't sweat it! I'll just go and hang out with Shiri!"

Shiri spun to Neptune. "When did I give you permission to do that?!"

"Hey, don't be such a wet blanket!" Neptune said. "Look, I'm bored and you have stuff to do. If I help you, then you'll get done even faster and I won't be bored! It's a win-win situation! I'll even help wash your back if you really want me to!"

For the first time, I saw Shiri's face turn red. "N-No! You can come with me, but we're NOT getting into the same bath together!"

"Okay!" She remained grinning. Neptune then turned back to Luna and I. "You two have fun!"

We watched as Neptune chased after Shiri. Then, I looked back at my little sister. "So, what did you want to do?"

Luna began scratching at the back of her head. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something privately..."

I stared at my sister with curiosity. "Sure, but am I going to hate the conversation?"

But she ignored my question. "There's nobody here, so it should be okay to talk about this... Take a seat."

She was being vague and that always worried me. Usually, she was only like this when she wanted to discuss something serious. It made me wonder what it could be.

Cautiously, I sat down in one of the armchairs, letting my body sink into it. Luna did the same, sitting down directly across from me.

I let out a sigh. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Luna nodded. "You were right that you were going to hate it. But it's about the Angel's Ball."

I let out a groan. "Not this again..."

"Just here me out for a second," Luna pleaded.

I slumped into the chair. "Fine..."

Luna leaned forward. "Are you really not going to go to the Angel's Ball with Neptune?"

"I already told you my answer," I replied. "I don't like thinking about that. Plus, Neptune and I are just friends, nothing more or less."

"But are you sure that's how she feels about you?" Luna pressed on with her questions.

My eyes met her's. "What are you trying to say?"

"All I'm asking is have you ever thought about how she sees you?" Luna said. "Have you honestly done that?"

"…" I found myself looking through Luna and letting my thoughts drift off. It was true that I was pretty fond of Neptune. Though, I wasn't sure if I was ever fond enough to call it love.

"Sigi, I don't think you honestly know how she feels about you," my sister said. "You've been oblivious to her feelings towards you. Don't you realize that? Have you ever thought that you've been so wrapped up in thinking about mom and dad that you've ignored those around you?"

"…" I was simply at a loss for words. Although I didn't want to admit it, my sister was right...

"Sigi?" Luna watched me carefully. "Are you even listening?"

I shook my head as I rose from the seat. "I heard you, loud and clear. Don't worry, Luna."

"Sigi, wait!" As I began to walk off, Luna caught my arm. I turned back to face her. "Are you at least going to think about what I said?"

I nodded. Smiling, I patted my sister's head once more. "Don't worry, I listened and took those words to heart. I'll think about them."

Although my words softened Luna's face a bit, she still didn't seem entirely convinced. "Promise?"

I placed my hand on her shoulder and stared into her eyes. "Promise."


	13. Chapter 12

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 12]**

 **[Brindle]**

"Hm..." I sat in a café, chin resting on a hand while the other stirred away at the drink.

"Brindle, what's wrong?" Snapping me from my trance, I found Noire sitting directly across from me.

"O-Oh, I was just thinking about some stuff," I quickly answered. "What are you doing here?"

Noire shrugged. "I came to get some breakfast. Then, I found you here."

I nodded. "I see..."

She took a sip from her drink, keeping her gaze locked on mine. "If you don't mind me asking, what was in your mind? You seemed to be thinking about something."

"I was thinking about who I was going to team up with during the Hades Tournament," I answered. "I only have a few I would consider asking to team up with me. Then again, I could do it solo."

"I'm going to do it by myself," Noire said. "But I do want to know who you're considering asking."

I let out a sigh, sipping my tea. "It's actually just a choice between Yami and Angel..."

Noire cocked her head. "Yami? Why that guy?"

"Simple. He's strong," I answered. "He may not exactly be the nicest person, but he definitely is strong."

"I see..." Noire nodded. "Then what are your plans for the day?"

"I'm thinking about going to see Angel today," I said. "All I have to do is find him..."

"What do you mean? We're all in the same district," Noire stated.

"True, but he's never there unless it's almost curfew," I pointed out. "I've tried asking Sigi, but he also doesn't know because he's always off training."

"Well, where have you looked so far?" Noire asked.

I tapped on my watch, it popped to life and projected a map of the school in front of us. "I've looked through the entire Bladers District, the Community District, the Hades Building and that one place where classes are held. Despite how much I've looked there, I can never find him."

"Have you ever thought about looking somewhere else?" Noire suggested. "From what it sounds like, you've been looking in the same places over and over again. Why not try to look someplace else?"

"Like where?" I wondered. "I don't know where else he could be at..."

"You haven't tried searching the courtyard yet. Nor have you tried looking in the other districts," Noire pointed out. "Why not try there?"

I shrugged. "Sure, but which district should I start at?"

"How about the Researchers District? I'll come with you," Noire suggested. "We can ask Vert, Blanc and the rest of them if they've seen him."

"Alright, sure," I nodded as I took another sip of my drink. "For now, let's just finish our food. Then we'll go look for him."

Noire gave a nod as her food arrived. "You're right. It'd be bad to start the day off with an empty stomach."

* * *

 **[Angel]**

"CRY FOR ME MORE!"

*Bang!*

I was slammed into the floor. Though it hurt terribly, it also felt good at the same time. It was the type of pain I yearned for.

I rose back to my feet and let out a laugh. "YES! THAT'S THE PAIN I NEED!"

The Plutia in front of me held her sword in front of her, the tip pointed right at me. Rushing forward, I soon found myself face to face with her.

*Shk!*

"Gh...!" Her blade drove through my gut and left a burning sensation in its place. I grinned as she pulled the blade from me and kicked me away.

"I'm so glad I finally found somebody I can punish as much as I want!" Plutia let out a maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the room.

I felt my other blood creep into me and begin to mend the wound in my gut, I then rose back to my feet.

"Haaa..." Letting out a heavy sigh, Plutia's weapon snapped back into a necklace and fell onto the stuffed animal.

She then plopped down onto the floor, letting out a giggle. Her normal persona had returned. "Hehe... That was sooo much fun..."

"It felt good, sure..." I shook my head, staring at my body. "But it was very messy..."

"Hey! There you—What the hell!?"

"Hm?" Plutia and I turned to face the doorway. Standing there were Noire and Brindle, both wearing shocked faces. "Oh, hey. What are you two doing over here?"

"What are you doing here!?" Brindle shouted. "We came here looking for you!"

"Oh, sorry," I bowed my head, scratching at the back of it. "Did you two need something from me?"

"Yeah. But, before that, I want to know what you were doing with Plutia!" Noire demanded.

I shrugged. "Just hanging out and having a fun time, that's all."

"Then why are you so bloody?!" Brindle questioned. "Even your clothes are torn!"

"I was playing with him..." Plutia said with an innocent smile. "We had looots of fun...!"

"Whatever..." Even though the two of them didn't seem entirely convinced by Plutia's words, they changed the subject. "Angel, we have something we want to ask you."

"Hm?" My attention turned to Brindle. "What's up? What do you need?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to team up with me to win the Hades Tournament," Brindle said. "That way, we have a better chance of winning."

I thought for a moment, putting my index finger to my chin. "Hm..."

I looked back at Brindle. Her scarlet eyes were steeled and she wore serious expression. Clearly, she wasn't joking about this. But one thing nagged at me that kept me from saying yes.

"Who's going to get the prize if we win?" I asked.

"…" Brindle paused for a moment. Then she smiled. "We'll figure it out when we get there!"

A chuckle escaped my mouth. "Man, you really sound like Neptune or Sigi right now..."

Brindle shrugged. "Are you in or not?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not? As long as we figure out who gets the spoils if we win."

She gave a nod. "Deal!"

"By the way," I stared at both Noire and Brindle. "Was the only reason you two came here because you wanted to find me?"

"Yeah," Brindle answered. "But we were hoping to invite you to lunch. You can bring Plutia with you if you want."

"Hm..." I looked back over at Plutia. She was napping on the floor. I shrugged. "Sure, let's go. I'll carry her over there."

* * *

 **[Shiri]**

"…" My head rested on my pillow. Since it was the weekend, we didn't have any drills or classes. Everyone had the whole weekend to themselves. Today, Sigi, Neptune and I weren't training. We had the whole day to ourselves, free to do whatever we wanted to do.

It was a fresh, sunny morning, a good day to head outside and do something. However, I couldn't pull myself from the bed.

All through the night, my dreams had kept me up, reminding me of the past and all that had happened. It was something that I didn't want to remember.

I stared into my wardrobe's mirror. I watched as my amber eyes turned to a cold ice blue. The same cold blue eyes my mother shared. "…"

It was funny, really.

Those dreams lingered in my mind, slowly eating away at me.

"…"

I watched as the energy of nature around slowly passed through the walls and objects to envelope my body. Its warm feeling began to stir inside of me; my body felt at peace.

However, my mind wasn't at peace. It was slowly eating away at itself, tearing me apart from the inside. "…"

The constant thought of it made my body quiver and brought back all the feelings of back then. It was something that bound me down and kept me from going on carelessly in my life.

"Shiri, why are you still in bed?" Turning to the other side of the bed, I saw Luna staring at me curiously.

"…" She was the younger brother of Sigi. Sigi had said that he was going to give up his own dream to help me achieve mine, no matter what happened.

Even though he didn't quite know me on a personal level, he had still decided to do it. He was a person who was selfless enough to give up his own dream for mine, despite not knowing what it was. It showed that he truly did care.

"Shiri, are you okay?" Luna inched her face closer to mine. "Are you sick or something?"

I snapped back to reality. Getting out of my thoughts, I shook my head and smiled. "No, I'm fine. I've just been thinking about some things, that's all."

"O-Oh, okay," Luna stood up straight. "That's good to hear. Though, you've been in bed all morning, so breakfast meals are almost over."

I rose to an upright position on my bed and patted Luna's head. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm just curious as to why you decided to show up here."

"Oh, that..." Luna shrugged. "Well, I thought I'd wake you up. Sigi was starting to worry you wouldn't show up."

My expression twisted into a puzzled one. "Show up? What do you mean?"

"Sigi was saying how he wanted to get everyone together to hang out," Luna explained. "So we started getting worried when you didn't come down to eat or anything."

A smile crossed my face. "I see..."

I rose from my bed and opened my wardrobe. I could finally wear the clothes I wanted to, instead of the uncomfortable uniforms. "I'll be heading out soon. Tell them I'll be there in a few minutes."

Luna gave a nod. "Alright!"

As she hurried out the door. I let out a sigh and looked in my wardrobe. Despite all the clothes I had brought, there was only one pair that I honestly enjoyed wearing.

It was a white, poplin shirt accompanied by a sea blue tie and matching skirt, along with a pair of white ballet shoes.

"Better not keep them waiting. They've been waiting long enough as it is..."

* * *

"There you are!" Neptune smiled when she saw me enter the building. Sitting around her was everyone else.

"Hm?" A chilling presence crept up my skin. I took a quick glance to my right to see a hooded crimson person sitting alone with a mug of whatever.

As I noticed them, they stood up, put their payment on the table and began walking out of the restaurant.

I kept my eyes on them as they walked by.

"…" They stopped right before they passed me. Standing there, their eyes flared a familiar red. Without a word, the person walked quietly out of the restaurant, leaving me trembling in fear and teeth gritted.

"Shiri? What's wrong?" Brindle snapped at my face. "You look kinda pale..."

"S-Sorry," I shook the thoughts out of my head. "J-Just thought I forgot something, don't worry about it."

"Alright," Brindle, although skeptical, gave a nod and we walked over to the table.

"What's up, sleepy pants?" Sigi and everyone else smiled as I arrived.

"Shut up. I had some things on my mind," I gave a sigh as I sat down at the wooden, round table. There was a glass of water.

Since everyone was there and wearing their normal attire, I took the moment to see them. Considering we could only wear our regular clothes on the holidays and weekends, it was worth it to wear them.

Sigi's was a black jacket with a white shirt underneath, black skinny jeans with dangling chains and a pearl necklace looped around his neck.

Luna wore a white and black crossover halter tank, a denim mini skirt with black sneakers, a silver bangle on her wrist with a pearl charm and an Amazon lily in her hair.

Neptune wore a one-piece purple and black hoodie dress with tall matching boots. Besides that, she wore a matching gun holster on her left thigh, a black bangle at her wrist and a pair of black D-Pad hair clips.

Noire wore an ocean blue dress with black accents, accompanied by thigh-high stockings and black, high heel boots.

Vert simply wore a black tank top, a red, pleated mini skirt and black sandals.

Blanc wore a one-piece white mini dress with brown accents and white sandal heels.

Plutia wore pink, purple polka-dotted pair of pajamas, pink bear slippers and socks stretching up to her thighs, striped with the colors white, pink and orange.

Uzume wore a black button-up shirt, accented orange with a matching tie, a black pleated mini skirt, matching fingerless gloves, black and orange striped ankle-high socks and matching boots.

Angel wore a black sweatshirt barely showing his white shirt underneath, matching sneakers and a pair of gray cargo pants.

Lastly, Brindle wore a black crop top accented silver, a pair of black detached sleeves, black and red gloves, black leggings, matching shaft boots and a silver, studded belt.

After my quick examination, I took a sip from my water, just before the food arrived.

"Shiri, are you ready?" Neptune asked excitedly.

"Ready for what?" I asked.

"To go get drunk again!" Neptune said.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't remind me of that night, please."

"But the way," Vert turned her attention to me, "who were you staring at earlier?"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. Let's just eat and get our day on with."

With a nod, we all began eating and chatting. All the while, the recent memory of the hooded person remained in my head.


	14. Chapter 13

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recongnition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 13]**

 **[Yami]**

I pushed through the crowded streets of people, slowly making my way to the Hades Building. As I arrived, I let out a sigh before entering the elevator and riding it up to the top floor, Victor's office.

*Ding!*

The door opened and I stepped into the room, Victor stopped scribbling through his papers and glanced up at me. "Yami, what brings you here? Take a seat."

I shook my head and stood standing, leaning against a wall. "I don't need to. I just came here to discuss matters."

Victor gave a slight nod. He set down his pen and paper as he turned his gaze up to me. "Alright then. What is it?"

My eyes met his and they locked. "I want to see all the profiles for the students that are attending the Hades Tournament."

"…" Victor simply stared back at me without saying a word. The quietness was bothersome. "Yami, what is your reasoning for this?"

"You should know as well as I do," I snapped back. "I want to win."

"I don't see what's wrong with you just training and using simulations to practice," Victor said. "You're already really strong. You don't need to see their profiles."

I gritted my teeth and crossed my arms. "I don't care. I came here to win, not waste my time."

Victor slumped back in his chair and let out a sigh, stroking his chin. "It's true that I could let you see them. Though, that would be considered cheating since you're entered into the tournament. You could get disqualified. Maybe even expelled..."

I shrugged. "I don't see what your point is."

"I'm asking what's in it for me?" Victor asked. "What could possibly be given to me so that you can see these profiles?"

"I don't care," I answered coldly. "You can treat me as your bitch for all I care. Anything you want. Just let me see them profiles."

Victor's lips curled into a sinister smile. "Anything? Then, do tell me something. What is your reason for wanting to win? What are you looking for?"

I continued to stare lifelessly into Victor's eyes. "Why are you asking me that? Shouldn't you know, considering you're the one who holds all the profiles?"

"I haven't bothered looking yet," he answered coolly. "Besides, I'd rather hear from the mouth of the person with the goal. Reading it is still interesting and all, but I want to hear it from you first."

I sighed. "My goal is simple. It's to open the eyes of others to the truth of this world. Right now, everyone is blind to the truth."

"I'm curious as to what your reason for this is..." Victor let out a chuckle. "Though you already answered my question, I have a request."

I rolled my eyes. "What is it?"

"If I let you see these profiles to help you win the Hades Tournament, would you be willing to help me with something?" Victor questioned.

"Would I have a choice?" I responded.

Victor continued smiling. "No, not really."

"… Do I get to know what this something is before I answer?" I asked.

"No, you don't," he said.

I sighed. "Alright, then I guess I'll accept your terms. Just let me see the profiles."

Victor nodded. "Very well. After you get a good look at them, I'll be telling you of my request."

A holographic display appeared in front of Victor, displaying many windows and weird buttons. After a few swipes and taps on the multiple holographic screens, a folder was projected from my watch.

I tapped the folder and watched as many profile cards appeared in front of me. I began swiping through them until I sorted through the specific ones I wanted to look at. "…"

"Ah, so that's why you wanted to see the profiles," Victor smirked. "You'll do anything you can to win, won't you?"

"…' I remained silent, ignoring his question. I was focused on the profiles.

The profiles were of Neptune, Sigi, Shiri, Andy, Deadeye, Jumon, Kane, Noire, Vert, Blanc, Uzume, Plutia, Angel, and Brindle.

Though I mainly cared about Shiri's profile, the other ones interested me too.

Since the profiles could display anybody's information and special abilities, it helped me to figure out how I could counter them. If I discovered their weaknesses, I could break them down.

I stared at all fourteen of the profiles, deciding to start with Sigi's.

"…"

Although his goal was to simply see his parents, his ability was unlisted.

I looked over at Victor. "Hey, do you know why Sigi's ability is unlisted?"

Victor shrugged. "I'm actually not sure. It just means he has one, but nobody knows what it is. It's the same for his little sister too."

"…" I stared at his profile. If I didn't know what his ability was, then I wouldn't be able to counter it. Meaning I would just have to fight him blindly.

Shaking the thought from my head, I moved onto the next one: Neptune's.

"…" Her profile was pretty simple. All she cared about seeing everyone around her happy. Since her ability was warping, all I really had to do was freeze her to the ground. If she were to teleport, the weight of the ice would affect her movements.

Then there was Andy. He didn't have an ability, but he was way too merciful. That meant I just had to catch him off guard.

Deadeye was the only one I didn't know how to deal with that well. Though she didn't have an ability, she was a cold-blooded killer that cared about stopping an organization. The only way I could possibly counter her was by turning her guns to ice so that I could break them. But that was practically impossible.

I decided to move onto Jumon. Her goal was to save her parents from debt and she had no abilities. Though, she was still incredibly strong. Even if she was a magic user, I would have to always be careful when I fought her.

Then there was Kane. He was just some crazy lunatic who wanted to be smarter than anyone with no ability. All I had to do was destroy his weapon.

Next, there was Noire. All she wanted was to help some orphans and find love. However, she had the ability that allowed thousands of blades to strike an enemy if they were to touch a specific ribbon. All I had to do was get rid of that ribbon.

Vert's goal was to save her mother from death. Her ability trapped her enemy in a cage while she barraged them with spears. The only way I could think of countering that was by turning the cage to ice so that I could quickly escape.

Blanc's goal was to see her family. Her ability allowed her to amplify her hammer's strength to be able to even destroy a planet. All I had to do was slow her down enough so that the hammer never touched me.

There was Plutia, who just wanted the biggest stuffed animal. Her ability basically turned her necklace to a sword and enhanced her abilities, along with changing her persona. I just had to disarm her from the weapon.

Uzume's goal, like Sigi, was to see her parents. Her ability allowed her to travel to her own dimension that could heal herself. I just had to finish her off before she could have a chance to go there.

There was Angel, who wanted to revive his parents and find a lover. His ability allowed him to basically become invincible and insanely strong for a limited time. To counter this, I would have to make sure I ended him right after his time limit ran out.

Brindle's goals were just to revive a pair of dragons. That being said, her ability allowed her to basically manipulate fire. For some reason, she could use deadly blade moves. The only way I could think of stopping her was by canceling her fire with my magic and avoiding her blades.

Finally, there was Shiri. She had no given background or goal. But it didn't take a genius to know she had the Sensos Spirit, an ability passed down to her by the Second Ruler.

The problem was that I didn't really have a way to counter the Sensos Spirit. It was an ability that amplified the user's strength immensely. The power the user could draw was infinite. It depended on nature around. That meant that it could draw as much as it wanted.

There wasn't really a way I could think of countering it. There was no way to cut off nature. We, as people, were part of nature and so was my magic.

"…"

I made a mental note to research about it later, looking back up at Victor. "Alright, I'm done. Now, what do you want?"

Victor smiled. "It's quite simple. In fact, your goal is pretty similar to our's in a way."

I watched him carefully. "What do you mean by 'our?'"

"Simply that I work with a team," Victor answered. "But let's not get into that yet. Let's just talk about our agreement."

I let out a groan. "You're getting annoying. Just tell me what your dumbass deal is."

He gave a nod. "Right. I'll let you beat me in the Hades Tournament if you can make it there. Then, I'll let you have your wish granted. In exchange, you'll join my peers in ruling over this world,"

"You said that your goal relates to mine. I'm not seeing the resemblance," I said.

"But there is a connection," Victor claimed. "You wish is to open the world's eyes to the cruelty. We wish to show the world their errors for ignoring this cruelty."

My eyes locked onto his. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Victor's smile grew wider. "We're going to consume this world and reset it..."

"…" Silence fell over the room. Our eyes were locked onto each other.

"So," Victor stood up from his desk and made his way in front of me. He offered me his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

For a moment, I just stared at his hand. But I then gave it a firm shake.

"We have a deal..."


	15. Chapter 14

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 14]**

 **[Sigi]**

"…" The train sped along the tracks as we all sat there. After we had eaten, we had decided to head out to Rouge's city square, one of the few places the school allowed you to leave to visit.

I stared out the window, keeping to myself while everyone else talked.

"Hey, bro," I felt my sister pull on my sleeve.

"What's up?" Turning to her, I found her staring at me with a curious expression.

"Have you thought about what I said?" She asked. "Remember? When you came to my district?"

My face switched to a serious one as I gave a nod. "Yeah, I haven't forgotten. I actually have been thinking about it, too."

"Have you decided yet?" Luna pressed on.

I shook my head. "It's too early for me to say right now. I need more time to think about it..."

Luna gave a nod. "That's fine. I just don't want you to be oblivious to how Neptune feels about you..."

I turned my attention to Neptune, who was sleeping quietly on my left shoulder. "Yeah..."

"Oh yeah," Luna let out a giggle. "Jewel called me earlier today."

I stared at Luna with the same curious expression she had shown me. "Really? What did she call about?"

"A few things actually," Luna said. "First, she said that we're going to be having a Christmas party this year and, if we wanted to, we could invite our friends over there."

I chuckled, staring at all of our friends. "She'll have to make a lot of food for everyone then..."

"I think she likes it that way though," Luna smiled. "She also said that our parents sent us something this year..."

"Really?" All of my attention immediately became fixed on Luna. "Did she say what it was?"

She shook her head. "No. She just said that they sent us something. She wouldn't even tell me when I asked."

I let out a sigh. "For once, I wish the holidays would come sooner. Was there anything else that Jewel called about?"

Luna frowned at my question but still nodded. "Yeah. She said something about being more careful. Apparently, something dangerous is in Rouge and we should try to stay safe at all cost."

"Hmmm..." My gaze returned to the city outside. "What could it be...?"

"I dunno..." Luna copied my movement. "But, according to what Jewel said, we'll be killed if we try messing with it..."

I let my body sink into the seat. "If only we knew what that something was so that we could actually avoid it..."

"Let's just not worry about it for now," Luna suggested. "We can ask Jewel all about it when the holidays come around."

"I guess you're right..." I gave a smile before my attention shifted over to Shiri, who was staring out the window like how I had been.

The more I watched her, the more I realized I didn't really know anything about her. The only possible reason she associated with us was because Neptune and I had asked her to join our team.

Even though I had also promised to help her win and achieve her goal, I didn't even know what that goal was. Sure, I didn't want to pressure her into telling me what it was. But, at the same time, I knew nothing about her besides the bare information that everyone else already knew.

While I was deep in thought, she caught me staring at her. "W-What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," I quickly shook my head. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"Thinking? About what?" She asked.

I shrugged and decided to state my opinion. "It's just that I haven't gotten to know you that well. Sure, you're on the same team as Neptune and I, but that's all. We don't know you personally. We just know you because we're on the same team."

Shiri smiled. "I'm sorry I haven't been too open; I didn't mean to. I've just always been pretty reserved, that's all."

"Yeah, sorry. I wasn't thinking about that..." I bowed my head to her.

"It's fine," Shiri smiled as I looked back up at her. She then patted at the seat right beside her. "Here, come sit over here."

"U-Um..." I pointed to Neptune, who was still sleeping on my shoulder.

Shiri let out a giggle. "Just set her down gently, then come sit over here."

I stared at Neptune skeptically. Even if I did do that, Neptune would know that I had moved if she woke up. If she found out, she would get pretty mad.

I sighed. "Alright, fine. Luna, make sure Neptune doesn't do anything dumb, even if she's asleep."

"Y-Yeah..." Luna gave a timid nod, cueing me to see if I could shake Neptune off of me without her waking up.

Holding my breath, I slipped my body away from Neptune, keeping my hands on her to make sure she didn't suddenly fall.

As I slipped from Neptune, I carefully set her down on the seat, being as gentle as I possibly could.

Her head touched the seat cushion and I waited a few seconds to see if she would stir. However, she didn't.

I let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness..."

I then went over and sat by Shiri, who had been watching the whole time. I turned to face her. "Well, I did it."

She gave a nod."You did. I guess for your prize I'll tell you anything you want to know about me..."

Before I formed a question, my mind formed a terrible one. I quickly shook the question away. After hanging around Neptune long enough, parts of her terrible personality had rubbed off on me. Though I didn't hate her in actuality, she could sometimes ask the dumbest questions.

"What's wrong?" Shiri watched me with curiosity. "You seem pretty deep in thought..."

"It's nothing," I let out a sigh and began thinking about an actual question. "Well...you said that you don't mind me asking any question, right?"

Shiri shrugged. "You should know that there are some that I won't answers..."

I gave a nod. "Alright... Well, how about telling me a bit of your life before you came here?"

"…" At my question, Shiri bit her bottom lip.

"Only if you want to," I quickly added. "If you don't feel comfortable talking about it, then you don't have to."

She shook her head. "No, that's not it. I'm fine with telling you about it. It's just that...I don't like remembering it..."

"Like I said, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you to," I reassured her.

Shiri released a sigh. "It's fine. Let's see... Where should I start...?"

She turned to look out the window of the train, watching the buildings blur by. "You, like everybody else, know that I'm the Second Ruler's daughter. I used to live happily with my mother and father. But something happened that resulted in both of them dying, leaving me being the only option to take the position as Ruler. At the time, I was only six-years-old.

"Combined with the fact that I had just lost both of my parents on that day and that I was suddenly about to become burdened with being the Ruler, I ran away. After a while though, the council found me, cornering me into a spot with nowhere to go. So, I killed them. After that, I lived alone and undercover. It was then that the people decided to choose a new Ruler."

"Victor, right?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Actually, it was somebody else before him. But, whoever that person was, they turned down the people's offer a few minutes after winning the title. After that, they chose Victor. I heard about the Hades Tournament and decided to train myself rigorously so that I could win. And I assume you know the rest..."

"Yeah..." I watched as she stared out of the window. "Does that mean that your goal is to win the Hades Tournament and reclaim your rightful title of Ruler?"

"Sort of..." Shiri answered. "I want to take down Victor and show the world why he was never meant to be the Ruler. And, if I'm lucky enough, I want to find my mother. I know she's still out there somewhere, hiding. I just have a feeling..."

I slouched back in my seat. "Believe me, I can relate to that. My wish is just to see my parents..."

"What happened to yours?" Shiri asked.

I shrugged. "They just sent us over here to protect us from something. If I could, I would go back to them. But I don't know how to get there. Instead, I have to rely on winning this tournament so that I can see them again."

"I see..." Shiri smiled and her eyes met mine. "Well, I guess we can relate to each other, huh?"

"Yeah..." I chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll still make sure your dreams are fulfilled before I start worrying about mine. All we have to do is win the tournament so that you can fight and defeat Victor, then you can go find your mother."

"S-Sigi..." I watched as tears began forming at the corners of Shiri's eyelids. Before I knew it, she had her arms around me and was crying into my chest. "Thank you..."

I patted her back and allowed her to quietly sob while the train continued down its path.

* * *

After visiting the city square, we had all gone for lunch and then went to an amusement park. We had decided to call it a night after that but were stopped right before we could end the night by Neptune. When we questioned her about where she wanted to go, she said it was a surprise.

The sun was setting and we had a few hours before curfew. However, we didn't know where we were going. We did know that we were back in the school though. For some reason, that worried me.

The hallways of the school were only dimly lit by the lights that lined the halls.

We all continued following Neptune. At this point, I was too worried to keep in suspense. "Neptune, can you tell us where we're going?"

She stopped frolicking along, turning back to us. She still wore the grin on her face. "We're going to the Doll Room!"


	16. Chapter 15

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 15]**

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY!?" I stared at Neptune, unable to believe the words she had just said.

"Neptune, are you insane?!" Brindle got in Neptune's face. "Why in the hell would you want to go there!?"

"Well, you know how—in every horror movie—there are those groups of students who go to those supposedly haunted places or whatever and make dares?" Neptune started. "Why don't we try surviving until curfew in the Doll Room?"

"Neptune, I know you've said some pretty dumb and crazy things, but this is like a death wish!" I blurted out. "That room is hell itself! Even if we were to somehow survive, Andy's going to know! It's a lose-lose situation!"

"Sigi's right," Shiri agreed. "Besides, we'll be trespassing. That in itself is a violation!"

"It'll be fine!" Neptune said. "Even if you guys aren't going, I'm going to do it anyways!"

"W-Wait! Neptune!" Luna cried out after her. However, Neptune disappeared into the darkness of the halls.

"Damnit!" I gritted my teeth, turning back to the others. "I'm going after her! She'll end up doing something dumb so I'm going! You guys either go back to your districts or follow after. I don't care which!"

Without waiting for any of their responses, I sprinted down the hallway after her, ignoring everyone's cries.

"Hey! Neptune!" As she came into view, I tackled her to the floor.

"W-Wah!"

We both fell to the ground. Picking myself up, I saw Neptune not too far away; she was sitting on the floor.

"Sigi, why'd you tackle me to the ground?" Neptune pouted. "Are you trying to strip me or something!?"

I let out a groan and pulled her back to her feet. "Please, I don't need these dumb jokes right now. I'm trying to stop you before you do anything irrational."

"But we have to spice up this story somehow!" Neptune said. "We haven't made it to the climax and nothing that interesting has happened yet! We have to do something interesting!"

"There's no way that's the only reason you're doing this!" I stated. "I know you well enough to be able to draw up that conclusion!"

"Hehe! You caught me!" Neptune grinned back at me. "It's also cause I'm curious about what's in there!"

"Neptune, listen to me," Walking over to her, I placed my hands on her shoulders and gave her a hard stare. "No person that has ever been sent there has ever come back alive! There's a reason for that! Don't you get it!? Besides, curiosity killed the cat!"

"Hey, don't sweat it!" Neptune motioned my hands off. "I'll be fine, I promise!"

I shook my head. "But you could possibly die! If you do that, we'll lose a member to the team and I'll lose you!"

"Sigi, trust me on this," Neptune pulled me into a hug. "I promise I'll come back."

"N-No..." I shook my head. Freeing myself from her embrace, I stared into her eyes once again. "I'm coming with you."

Neptune let out a sigh. "Sigi, you don't have to force yourself to—"

"I don't care," I interrupted her. "I'm going to make sure you don't die, even if we do get in trouble. This way, at least you'll live."

"Heh," Neptune chuckled. "You're always like this..."

"You know me well, too," I said. "Once I've made up my mind, I won't go back on my word. And I swore that I'd keep you safe..."

Neptune shook her head; she smiled. "Whatever. If you're going to come with me, then so be it. But you gotta go fast!"

"Yeah..." Nodding, I began following Neptune to the Doll Room. "By the way, how do you even know where this place is?"

"Doy!" Neptune turned back to me, flicking my forehead. "This isn't my first time sneaking out! After doing this for a while, I managed to find the place. It looks exactly like one of those places in a horror game!"

"I just care more about your safety," I muttered. "Let's just get this over with..."

* * *

Reaching the courtyard fountain, Neptune looked around, making sure nobody was around. She then bent over and pushed in a hidden tile in the pathway.

The area around us began to tremble, turning around we watched as the walkway began shifting into a stairwell leading down below.

I turned to Neptune, swallowing hard. "Are you sure about this?"

She gave a nod. "Yeah..."

She then took the lead and I followed her down the stairwell. At the end, there was a chipped wooden door. From the other side, screams could be heard.

"Hey, are you sure about this?" I asked once more.

Neptune gave another nod. "Yeah, I'm sure..."

Taking a deep breath, Neptune creaked the door open, being met by the pitch black darkness. We both stepped inside.

"…"

Upon entering, the door behind us slammed shut. I went to try to open it, but it was as if it wasn't even there to begin with. "Damnit! What is this shit...?"

Deciding to ignore the fact that the door had disappeared, I shifted my attention to the room.

It was pitch black. Not only that, but there wasn't a single sound to be heard besides our breathing. It was as if we were in an empty black void with nobody around for miles.

There was no sound, no smells, nowhere to look and nothing to see. There was only an eerie vibe from the nothingness that was beheld to us.

"Neptune, how are we going to survive a few hours in here if we can't even escape?" I asked. However, I received no type of witty reply. "N-Neptune?"

I held my breath and strained my ears to listen for her. But there was nothing to be heard. I was alone in the dark void.

"…" I took a step forward, echoing the void. No matter where I seemed to look or walk, it didn't seem to make a difference.

I stopped for a second before taking out my weapon. It burst to life, the blue energy from it emitted a dim glow in front of me.

I strained all of my senses and stared at the sight before me. "…! N-No...!"

I crumpled to my knees, unable to comprehend what was in front of me. My body trembled and I fought to fight back the tears.

I shfted the dim light closer to the sight, making sure I wasn't going insane.

The light brightened the dark and revealed the face of my dead sister.

"…" For a moment, I just remained still. Thousands of thoughts spiraled through my mind and I felt my body shake violently. She was the only member of my family that I had. But now, she was gone.

"… AGGGGHHHHHH!"

My cry rang out through the void. The pain, grief, and sorrow that I felt all echoed throughout; every detail of my painful cry rang across the void.

The last bit of family I had was just ripped away from me. I didn't even know the cause or why this had all happened. I just couldn't bear it anymore...

The feelings inside of me poured out, tears began streaming down my face. I lost all sense of my body as my vision blurred. I felt numb; my heart felt as if it were crushing itself, all the energy slowly being sapped from it.

"…" What good of a person was I if I couldn't even protect my own sister? She was the person I held the dearest to me.

Then, from the shadows, I heard a voice. It was echoey, cool and deep. "What's wrong, boy? Why are you crying?"

"...S-She's...dead..." I struggled to get the words out, swallowing hard. "M-My sister... S-She's...gone..."

"Don't cry..." The voice echoed. "So what if she's gone? If you join me, then I'll make sure you'll have everything you ever desired. I could even let you see your parents again..."

"No..." I shook my head. "What's the point of seeing them again if I'll just be a burden to them?!. How can I even face them when I can't even protect my own sister!?"

"Then, I'll say it again. Join me..." The voice offered. "I'll bring life back to your sister and make you better than what you are now. With me, you'll have everything you ever wanted..."

"…" At this point, it didn't matter to me anymore. As long as I could protect the ones I cared about, I didn't care what happened to me. "If you really can bring back my sister, then you can do as you wish with me..."

"Wise choice..." The voice said. "All you have to do is accept the vial in front of you. Then, I'll break free..."

After the voice had told of where the vial was, I had stopped listening and looked for it. Sure enough, it was in front of me, tightly clutched Luna's hand.

I took it from her small hands, examining the dark sludge within the thin vial. "What do I do with it?"

"Break it and I'll make sure you're safe," the voice instructed.

Nothing mattered except making sure Luna lived. That's all I cared about right now.

"…"

"SIGI! Stop!"

Before I realized what was going on, pain exploded in my body and I fell to the ground. My vision was blurring and my body was becoming numb. I watched as Andy ran to me, holding a pistol. "Damnit! You better hope we get the two of you out safely!"

"…"

My eyes were becoming heavy. I couldn't hear the words he mouthed anymore. The only thing I could make out was being picked up and carried. It was then that I lost all of the sense in my body and went into a deep sleep.

But all I could think about was how much of a failure I was.

A failure who wasn't even able to protect those close to them...


	17. Chapter 16

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 16]**

"…"

"How's he doing, doctor?"

"He seems stable. It doesn't seem like he was in the Doll Room long enough for the things in there to take over him. Though, he was extremely close..."

"Good. As long as he wasn't affected..."

"Do you have anymore questions before I leave you two alone?"

"Yeah. What about Neptune? How's she doing?"

"We haven't checked on her yet. Sorry..."

"…" Voices echoed as I woke up. My vision was still fuzzy and everything seemed distant. I instantly squeezed my eyes shut from the white lights that glared down at me.

"No, it's fine. That's all, thanks."

"Alright..."

I opened my eyes once again. This time, I was adjusted to the lights and my vision had cleared up. Taking in the sight, I found that I was in the infirmary, just like a few months ago. Déjà vu at it's finest.

"I see you're up..." Andy walked up to me. "How are you feeling?"

For a moment, I just stared at him, unable to respond. Then I moved my body and winced in pain, falling back to the bed. "Simple. I feel like shit."

He chuckled and took a seat beside my bed. "Well, your personality is still yours at least."

"That's the least of my worries, honestly," I stated. "I just want to know what happened to everyone else and my standing in the tournament."

"Straight to the point I see..." Andy let out a sigh. "Well, it beats having to tell you later..."

I stared him in his eyes. "Tell me."

Andy gave a nod. "We were going through the surveillance cameras and found that you and your group were still up, even though it was almost curfew. After watching you all for a while longer, we figured out that you were heading for the Doll Room."

I sighed. "Yeah, Neptune wanted to do it and I couldn't stop her."

Andy continued his explanation. "Well, after we figured out you two were heading there, we hurried there, hoping it wasn't too late. Somehow, we managed to get there and stop the both of you before anything in there got to you."

"Thanks," I said. "But what about Neptune and Luna? What about them? Is Luna going to live!?"

Andy sighed. "Sigi, your sister isn't dead, far from it, actually. She's just really worried about you right now."

"B-But... I saw her body... And she was dead..." I stated. "I saw it with my own eyes..."

He shook his head. "What you and Neptune saw in there were just illusions. You were being broken down mentally. For you, it was seeing someone you cared deeply about die. Neptune's was similar; she saw you die before her very eyes."

"But why'd it look so realistic?" I asked. "It makes no sense."

"Like I said, the room was breaking you down mentally. It does so by any means necessary," he explained. "When the Doll Room was created, it was made using some substance from a vial. That substance had enough dark energy to consume anyone that was exposed to it long enough. We don't know who found it, but we don't bother asking.

"We do know that it will consume you the second you come in contact with it. That's why you were probably thinking you were alone. All it did was consume you. From there, it began the process of breaking you down. After that, you either died from being consumed or the substance takes over your body. Your body would have been taken over if we hadn't showed up when we did."

"I see..." I stared at my sheet, loss for words.

"Now, as for your standing in the tournament," Andy switched the subject. "I won't be expelling either of you. However, both of you will be forced to forfeit the Hades Tournament."

"What!?" Hearing those dreaded words, my attention snapped to Andy. "What did you just say!?"

Andy shook his head. "You heard me. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to do it. You know the rules."

"I don't have the time to wait!" I blurted out. "Isn't there any way I can get back in?"

"Possibly, but I can't think of any," Andy answered. "Sorry, but that's how the rules are. I'm not allowed to break them. If there's any way that I can find, I'll let you know."

I bowed my head. "Yeah... Thanks anyways..."

Andy nodded. "For now, head out once you've recovered. Everybody is worried about you."

I gave a slight nod as he walked from the room. "…"

I allowed my body to sink into the bed. I felt confused, lost on what to do. To wait another few years to attempt to win was too long of a time. Even though I wasn't going to get the prize for winning, I had promised Shiri that I would help her win the Hades Tournament. And I didn't plan to go back on my word.

I let out a sigh. Shifting around in my, I continued to wince from the pain. Though, it wasn't as bad as it had been several minutes ago.

I forced myself to my feet, revealing my naked body, only covered by a pair of undergarments. I made my way to where my clothes were neatly folded.

Putting them on, I walked back to the bed and sat there, thinking.

For the past eleven years, I had trained and pushed my body to its limits, always with the intent of winning the tournament so that Luna and I could see our parents again. Even when I promised to help Shiri win, I was still as motivated as ever. In a way, she was going through the same thing I was.

Honestly, I didn't want to just give up on the tournament.

I wasn't about to blame Neptune either. Despite how she acted at times, she never harbored any bad intentions. All she wanted to do was have some fun. She was a reckless girl who just enjoyed having fun, that's all.

I shook the thoughts from my head. "There's no point sitting around here and thinking..."

I picked myself back up and walked from the room. Instantly, I was tackled to the floor.

Neptune had thrown herself at me, tackling me down. I heard her sob and drench my jacket as she cried. Her body was trembling.

I stared at her in shock. My arms wrapped around her and I patted her back. "N-Neptune, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm sorry! S-Sigi... I-I'm so, so sorry!" A hiccup escaped her mouth. "I'm so sorry for what I've done! I-I didn't mean it... I-I swear!"

I was taken back by her repeated apologies—ones which I didn't know what for. I pulled her along with me back to our feet. "N-Neptune, breath! Don't talk right now, just breathe."

"Y-Yeah..." She sniffled and sobbed quietly, doing her best to steady her breathing. She pulled away from my chest and used her sleeve to wipe her tears away. Revealing her eyes, they were red and puffy. She wore a sad expression, one that had guilt written all over it.

I stepped closer to her and placed my hands on Neptune's shoulders, staring her in her watery eyes. "Now, what's wrong?"

She let a heavy sigh escape before looking back into my eyes. "I-I'm sorry... I-I...I caused you so much trouble... And you can't be in the Hades Tournament anymore..."

I shook my head and smiled, flicking her at her forehead. "It's nothing to worry about. I don't blame you for anything that happened; you were just being your normal self, that's all. It'll be alright. I'll figure something out, don't worry."

She sniffled. "B-But...I-I..."

I quickly put a finger to her lip and hushed her, shaking my head. "It's alright, you don't have to be sorry for anything."

Her dewy eyes stared back into mine. "S-Still... I-I'm sorry..."

I patted her head. "Like I said, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm not mad at you. Let's just take it as a lesson learned, alright?"

"Y-Yeah..." Neptune nodded but kept her head low. "Still, I'm sorry..."

"Come on..." I squatted down and turned back to her. "Get on my back. If you're too sad and guilty to do anything, I'll let you ride me around if you want."

Neptune managed to get out a laugh, a faint blush entering her cheek. "That's pretty silly, even for you, Sigi."

I smiled. "Well, I still haven't gotten an answer."

This time, Neptune burst out into a laughter. "I get it! Don't be so pushy! I'm getting on."

I felt her weight suddenly pull me down. Though, it wasn't too much. In fact, she didn't weigh much at all. Besides her minor weight, I felt a soft sensation against my back.

I did my best to ignore it and hoisted her up. "Alright, are you settled on?"

Neptune gave a nod. "Yup! But do I weigh too much?"

I chuckled as I began walking to the exit door. "Nope, not at all."

"Are you just saying that because I'm pressed up against you?" Neptune questioned. "Cause you seem to be enjoying this way too much!"

I shook my head. "Not really. I'm just thinking about how childish this feels."

"Don't you find it kind of weird though?" Neptune wondered, giggling. "It's like something lovers or a married couple would do, y'know?"

I shrugged. "It's fine. Just be happy that I'm even giving you a piggyback ride."

"Hehe!" She brought her head close to mine. "Thanks!"

I pushed the door open, revealing the waiting room. Sitting in one of the chairs was Luna. Seeing me, she ran towards me and threw her arms around me.

I brought my head close to her's, patting her back. "I'm sorry, Luna."

She shook her head. Her body was trembling and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm just glad you're safe..."

I nodded. "Yeah... I'm glad you are, too..."

As we separated, I noticed Shiri standing in a corner.

She then approached us, facing Neptune and I. "How are you two feeling?"

I shrugged. "I feel alright."

Neptune let a giggle as an answer. "I get to ride Sigi all day!"

Shiri smiled. "I guess you two are feeling fine."

We both nodded. "Yup!"

"That's good," Shiri let out a relieved sigh. "But what are you two going to do now? Neither of you can participate in the tournament now."

My expression quickly switched to a serious one. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out. I'm going to find a way for us to get back into the tournament. I did promise you that I would help you, remember?"

Shiri returned my gaze with a worried one. "What about our training sessions then? What about those?"

"We'll continued those like normal," I replied. "For now, you just worry about getting ready for the tournament. I'll worry about getting Neptune and I back into it."

For a moment, Shiri paused, but then she gave a timid nod. "Alright. I'll believe you."

As she turned on her heel and walked away, I felt Luna tug on my sleeve. Her expression showed complete worry.

"Sigi, please don't tell me you lied to her..." Luna said.

I shook my head. "I didn't. I don't plan to either..."


	18. Chapter 17

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 17]**

 **[Blanc]**

"…" The capsule was quiet and comfortable, making it a perfect reading environment.

"Blanc, hey," I heard a distant voice and a few knocks from the glass.

I sighed and set my book down, letting the capsule turn back into its original environment. "So much for peace and quiet..."

The glass slid open and I exited my capsule. Standing there was Vert and a smiling Plutia. I returned her smile and turned to face Vert. "I was in the middle of a book. What do you need?"

"Well, we were wondering if you would accompany us for some sweets and tea," Vert offered.

"I'm not wasting my time on that," I answered. "There's no point. Plus, we only have a few hours before it's curfew."

"It's fine," Vert said. "We won't be there long anyways. After that, we were planning on going to see Sigi. You know him, correct?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but why? And what's he doing at this time of day?"

"Simple," Vert smiled. "He's going to have a test to see if he and Neptune can get back into the Hades Tournament."

"A test?" I stared at Vert with wonder. "What test?"

"I'm not quite sure myself," she admitted. "Although, he told us that he and Neptune could possibly get back into the tournament if he were to pass."

"…" I paused for a moment, pondering my options. I gave a shrug soon after. "Alright, I'll come."

"Yaaay! Blanny's coming...!" Plutia let out a giggle as she threw her arms around me.

I squirmed to get free. "O-Okay, t-thanks. B-But could you let go?"

"Those details can be worked out later," Vert shrugged it off. "Plutia, take Blanc and we'll head off to get some sweets."

Hearing that, Plutia grew a wide smile. "Yaaay...!"

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

 _I lay there on my bed, just staring up at the ceiling. Even after all I had said to Shiri, Neptune, and Luna, I still hadn't found a way to get back into the tournament. It had been a month since then and the tournament was rapidly approaching. My options were quickly dwindling..._

 _I buried my head into the pillow. "What am I going to do...?"_

 _"Maybe I could help you with that."_

 _I immediately spun my head to see Andy standing there at my bedside, watching me. "What are you doing here?"_

 _He shrugged. "Isn't it obvious? Looking for you, of course."_

 _I sat upright on the bed. "But don't you have other duties to attend to?"_

 _"Nope, I'm done for the day," Andy said with a smile. "That's why I came looking for you."_

 _"Why would you come look for me?" I asked. "I'm not even the best at entertaining anyways."_

 _He chuckled and his arms shifted to his hips. "Well, you should try to not be as pessimistic as you are."_

 _I shrugged. "Can't help it. It's in my nature."_

 _"Well, I won't judge you for that," Andy's lips curled into a smile. "I came here for a completely different reason anyways."_

 _I returned Andy's gaze. "Alright. What is it?"_

 _His smile grew wider. "Do you want to get back into the Hades Tournament?"_

 _I instantly became captivated by him. "Are you trying to bullshit me?"_

 _He shook his head, wearing a serious expression. "Does this face seem like I'm trying to bullshit you?"_

 _I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you're good at telling lies..."_

 _He sighed. "No, I'm not lying; I actually found a way. Only if you're up for it, though."_

 _"You know I want to get back into the tournament," I stated. "So why would I not want to take up your offer?"_

 _"There are some risks that come with the offer," Andy said. "I'm telling you this now so you can't say I didn't warn you."_

 _I shrugged. "It can't be that bad. What even are these dangers you speak of, o' good sir?"_

 _"Right..." Andy swallowed hard. "Well, it's a simulation specifically designed for whoever takes it. The simulation will pit you against somebody or something that you will have to defeat. Though, whatever injuries acquired in the simulations will transfer to your actual body."_

 _I was starting to catch on. "Meaning that, if I were to die in the simulation..."_

 _He gave a grim nod, finishing my words. "You would die in real life..."_

 _I stared at the floor with a blank expression. "I see..."_

 _"But this is your best chance that I have to offer you to getting back into the Hades Tournament," Andy added. "Meaning you'll be taking a big risk for trying to get back into this tournament."_

 _"I know," I let out yet another sigh._

 _Andy squatted down and came to eye level with me, staring into my dark brown ones. "Then, what's your decision going to be?"_

 _"…" I stared into his eyes for a moment. Then, I answered._

* * *

I sat in the wooden chair at the center of the room, staring at the many devices and unsettling utensils around. It was like being in a dentist's office. My arms, legs, and neck were all strapped down by tight leather straps, making it hard to breathe.

I knew that everyone else was watching just outside. Outside, there was a monitor displaying the inside of the simulation; another displaying the room I was in.

There was only a single bulb, dimly illuminating the dark room. The only thing I could really do was wait for the Researcher to come in and get the simulation ready.

Just then the door creaked open and a scrawny man stepped in. He wore the traditional Researcher uniform: a white tracksuit—patched with the Researchers' insignia—and a pair of black boots.

In particular, this pale man had curly brown hair and a pair of thin glasses with multiple taped frame parts. In his hands, he held a small leather case.

He took a seat beside me in another chair. "Alright. Sigi, are you ready?"

I let out a laugh. "I don't really care, honestly. As long as I get back into the tournament."

He smiled. "Well, I didn't hear a no."

"Fair enough," I said.

"Now, I'll ask some questions to make sure you meet all the regulations for the simulation," the man explained. "First, do you have any allergies?"

I let out a groan. "Is this a checkup at the doctor? I don't know why you're asking this if you probably have a sheet displaying my information."

"Well, we like to keep these updated," the man said. "Plus, we want to make sure there aren't any sudden changes. So, can you please try to bear through this?"

I let out a groan. "Fine..."

Like a checkup to the doctor, he asked the basic questions, filling forms out on his display.

After running through the questions, he let his watch's display disappear and looked back up at me, beaming a smile. "Well, it looks like you're able to take the test!"

I gave a nod. "Good."

"Now, do you have any questions concerning anything before I run through the procedure?" He asked.

I nodded once again. "Actually, yeah. What is the simulation going to simulate for me? Am I going to be able to kill whatever it is?"

"That, I'm unsure of," he answered. "This simulation adapts to each person and chooses something that will be extremely difficult for the person to defeat. Whatever yours is, don't expect to win easily. Just know that it can be defeated. The best advice I can give you is to do your best."

"Alright," I said. "Then let's run through the procedures."

The man cleared his throat. "So, the simulation is started once I've hooked you up to a few devices and set things up. Once in, you'll fight whatever it is that we just talked about. Any body parts that you lose will be permanent. We'll only stop the simulation if you're extremely close to the death. Failure to complete the simulation will result in not winning. Now, any more questions?"

"Yeah," I said. "Is there any way to get my lost body parts back or replace them?"

"Actually, there is," he answered. "You have two options. The cheaper option is to pay for mechanical body parts installed into your body. If you have a lot of money, you can pay the Researchers to give you a serum that can regenerate your body parts. Though, it's really expensive. Your best bet is to probably just get mechanical parts if anything were to happen."

I let out a breath. "Alright. Then, I'm ready.

"Good luck then," the man opened his case, pulling out several devices. He then walked behind me.

Using a wipe, he wiped at the back of my neck. He then injected a needle into that certain position, creating a stinging pain. He then walked back to his chair and began manipulating with multiple screens. A moment later, a beep went off.

The Researcher turned back to me. "Alright. Are you prepared mentally and physically?"

I gave a final nod, letting out a heavy sigh; my body was trembling. "I guess..."

The Researcher gave a nod. "Then good luck to you. I'll root for you."

As he clicked a button, a sudden heaviness fell on me and I passed out instantly.

* * *

I found myself in the BSA room, standing at the center of the arena. I took in my surroundings, my eyes coming to rest on a single person standing before me.

He looked to be around my age.

His black hair was in a buzz cut, he had jade green eyes and tanned skin. The attire he wore consisted of a white shirt with an open black jacket over it. Below that, he wore matching skinny jeans and silver tennis shoes, accented red.

In his right hand, he held a silver katana with a gold, circular guard, and black handle.

"…"

We stared directly into each other's eyes. Something about him reminded me of my father, the little memories I had of him. His presence felt familiar, but—at the same time—it also felt chilling.

I took my handle and let the energy flow to create the blue blade. I kept my eyes on him. "Who are you?"

He answered coolly. "I'm the one who's here to fight you."

"Okay. Who are you specifically," I asked again. "What's your name?"

"Just call me Tolise," he answered. "Name's aren't important. We're here to fight."

Though he said that his name was unimportant, it meant something to me. That name, Tolise, was the name of my father's best friend. At least, that's what Jewel had always told me.

"Then do you know my father?" I asked him. "Do you know a man named Silver?"

"Hmph," he closed his eyes. Reopening them, his eyes had changed to a crimson color. "Those details don't matter. Let's get this over with..."

"H-Hey—!"

Before I could ask anything more, he suddenly appeared in front of me, pulling me close to him. In a swift, fast movement, his blade drove through my gut.

I felt the breath escape from me, the surge of pain that erupted in my body as it gave out and I fell to the floor. "AGHHHH!"

My scream echoed throughout the room as Tolise stood over me. I stared up at him and his devilish crimson eyes. "H-How d-did you...?!"

"I'm sorry for this," he apologized, raising his blade. "I'll try to make it quick. Forgive me."

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the final blow.

 _This is it, isn't it?_ In the end, taking the simulation didn't even matter. I wasn't going to get to take part in the tournament anyways. And, now, I was going to die.

 _I really am a failure..._


	19. Chapter 18

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This chapter was uploaded extremely early due to the fact that I won't be getting a chance to upload it later tonight. Also, though this is late, Happy Independence Day to all of you in America!**

* * *

 **[Chapter 18]**

 **[Neptune]**

Many of the school's students sat in the room, staring at the monitor that displayed Sigi. I held my breath, jerking my head away from the screen. I didn't want to see what was about to happen, especially to Sigi.

"Why haven't they stopped the simulation!?" Luna asked. "They're supposed to pull him out if he comes close to death, aren't they?!"

"They are," Vert confirmed. "But the fact that he's still in there means that they think he's going to survive."

"But why?" Brindle questioned. "How is he going to survive that person's attacks!? He beat him in a single hit!"

"It's because this simulation is also a testing that the Researchers use," Blanc stated.

I looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

"It's quite simple," Vert said. "That simulation was created by the Researchers. Since people—like Sigi—have unknown abilities, they use this simulation to force that ability out."

"What if it doesn't come out?" I quickly asked.

Blanc and Vert exchanged a look. Then, they turned to me, wearing grim expressions. "If things keep going the way they are now, then Sigi will die..."

"…" I felt all my senses go numb from hearing that word. "S-Sigi... D-Dead..."

My body began trembling, everything became hazy and I soon passed out.

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

I knew the blade loomed over me.

 _Even after all that effort, it was all for nothing. It didn't matter how much I trained. Why did any of it matter? I'll just end up like everyone else: dead. All because I chased after some unattainable dream..._

I let my body relax. "It's over..."

 **Do you truly believe what you're saying, Sigi Aurum?**

It was then that I heard a voice echo in my head. My vision turned to white and I soon found myself in an empty white space. The only thing in the space was a golden human silhouette.

It took me a second to process where I was. But then I found myself fixated on the golden silhouette.

For some reason, I blurted out the first thing on my mind. "A-Am I dead...?"

When the voice spoke, it was echoey, gentle—motherly—and soothing. **"Don't fret, Sigi. You're still very much alive. Though, I can't say how well you are right now."**

"B-But I was about to be killed," I stated. "So why am I here? Is this Limbo?"

 **"You really are like him, aren't you?"** The voice let out a laugh. **"Don't worry. In this space, time doesn't move. Until you return to your body, your conscious can remain here for as long as you'd like."**

I took another look at the white space I stood in. "Where even am I?"

 **"Your consciousness is in my little safe haven,"** It answered. **"For as long as you're here, you will remain safe and unharmed."**

I stared at my naked body. Sure enough, the strike that had been inflicted to my gut was there. I touched it. However, instead of the expected pain, there was no feeling to it.

I looked back up at the person. "W-Who are you and why am I here?"

 **"Simple,"** I watched as the person waved at the air. Instantly the space around became enveloped in golden light. **"I am the Light that exists inside of you. I've been in you this whole time, Sigi."**

I watched as the golden energy danced around the room. "But...why are you inside of me?"

 **"Just think of it as a gift,"** It answered. **"I'm here to help you."**

I could only stare at it. "But why have you only shown up now? Why not before?"

 **"I'm here to protect you when you truly need it. I know to come out when you truly need it,"** it replied. **"Though, I almost had to come out when you were in the Doll Room. Luckily, you were saved before I had to come out."**

"What's so bad about the Doll Room that almost made you have to come out?" I asked. "If you only come out during dire situations, then what makes the Doll Room so bad?"

 **"What's in the Doll Room is the problem. It's like the opposite of me,"** it answered. **"It's composed of negative energy. Also, it can take control of you and destroy you however so it chooses. I'm just not sure as to why it's in a school."**

"Then, if you're here to help me, how am I supposed to beat that man?" I asked it. "As soon as I leave, I'll be killed. It won't matter in the end. In a way, this is just prolonging the inevitable."

 **"Fear not,"** it reassured me. **"For I'll lend you my power and help you defeat that man."**

"Are you sure that will be able to help?" I kept asking. "That man took me down in one blow, and he supposedly knows my father. How do I defeat him?!"

 **"You have a reason for fighting. Your father lived by the rules of fighting for the ones he loved, defying the rules and orders set on him,"** it said. **"That's how you should fight: because of your will. Because that's what made him who he is today..."**

"W-Wait, how do you know th—!"

Before I could ask anymore, it latched onto me, and I suddenly became filled with strength.

 **"Now then, go and defeat him, Sigi..."**

* * *

 **[Luna]**

I held my breath as the man readied his katana, bringing it up.

Many of our group had either bowed their heads or turned away. Neptune had woken up, only to sob from seeing the sight of Sigi's approaching death. Some were trying to comfort her while the rest of the students—including me—kept their eyes fixated on the screen.

 _Come on, Sigi..._

"This is goodbye," the man brought his blade down onto Sigi.

*Clang!*

The katana was suddenly knocked from the man's hands, stabbing itself into the walls.

The man spun back to Sigi, who was know bathed in a blue lightning aura. The air around crackled as Sigi brought himself back to his feet, his gut quickly healing itself.

The man was suddenly a few feet away from Sigi. From thin air, he produced a red energy blade, similar to Sigi's sword. "Well then, I guess I might actually have to try here..."

I spun my head to Neptune. "Hey, Neptune! Sigi's alive!"

"What!?" She suddenly brought her head up, her eyes widening when she saw Sigi. "H-He's alive!? But how!?"

The room roared with cheers as they all chanted Sigi's name.

Brindle smiled. "Does it matter? Everyone here is rooting for Sigi."

"What's that aura though?" Noire asked.

I smiled. "That must be his ability!"

Sigi picked up his energy sword, his body now enveloped by a fiery blue aura and his eyes had a matching glow. The air around him crackled.

Sigi stared down the man, tightly gripping his sword. "I'll make sure to win this battle. I swear I'll win!"

The roaring cheers of the students grew louder as the man smiled. "Is that so? Then, do tell me something. What's your will for fighting?"

He suddenly appeared in front of Sigi again and slashed at him. This time, Sigi stepped to the side and kicked the man away.

It was then that Sigi answered. "My will is to protect the ones I love and keep the promises I had to others."

The man smiled. "You're an interesting one, you know that?"

"That doesn't matter to me," Sigi said. He remained glaring at the man. "All I care about is taking you down!"

Lunging forward, Sigi slashed at the man, only for him to parry the strike and kick Sigi to the floor.

He then materialized several throwing knives and threw them all at Sigi.

In a flowing movement, Sigi kicked them all away and hopped back to his feet, finding the man in his face again.

This time, Sigi headbutted the man and he stumbled back. Following that, Sigi threw a punch, connecting his fist with the man's jaw.

He crumpled to the arena floor. As Sigi brought his blade down on him, he rolled out the way. Lunging forward, he slashed at Sigi, slicing off his arm.

"G-Gh!" His sword clanged to the floor and he staggered back, trying to cover the spot where his right arm had once been. However, as he took his hand away from the arm, it revealed that there was no blood loss. Though, there still wasn't an arm.

"How are you feeling?" The man asked. "Think you can still beat me with one arm?"

"I'll beat you no matter what!" Despite his condition, Sigi still wore a determined face. His aura amplified, generating lightning. "I have promises to keep!"

Part of the lightning took form into a silver katana blade with a black handle. It radiated lightning.

Sigi took hold of it and got into a stance. "I'll win this for all the people I love!"

The man chuckled. "If that's the case, then I guess there's no point in me holding back anymore..."

"Do you think Sigi can pull it off?" I heard one of the students ask.

"It'd be pretty cool if he did pull it off with only one arm," another student responded.

I looked over at Shiri. "What do you think?"

"…" Shiri remained quiet for a moment. Then, she smiled. "As long as he remains true to himself, then I think he can pull it off."

"I hope so..." I bit at the bottom of my lip, turning my attention back to the screen.

The man let out a deep breath, closing his eyes. A crimson energy began to leak from his body.

A white sludge crept and covered the left side of his face. While his right eye remained a crimson shade, his left eye had turned to the moon yellow and its sclera was now black. Glowing red marking wrapped around his skin as his now-white hair grew out.

His voice was now echoey and deeper in tone. **"HAHAHA! Are you ready to die, boy!?"**

Sigi took a deep breath, locking his eyes with the man. "It's time to finish this..."

*Bang!*

Sigi burst forward, the lightning rocketing him forward.

Appearing in front of the man, he slashed at him.

*Crash!*

The man twisted his body to avoid the blade, following by kicking Sigi at his gut. With monstrous force, Sigi was smashed into the walls.

Pulling himself free, Sigi bounded from the wall towards the man. As the man winded up a punch, Sigi's speed amplified and he suddenly appeared behind him.

His blade charged with lightning and he slashed at him.

The man quickly jumped away, receiving a gash to his chest and revealing more of the red markings.

The man then materialized a pair of swords coated in pulsing red energy. Like Sigi, his speed increased and he charged towards him.

He appeared in front of Sigi and performed a cross slash, only for Sigi to jump back and follow by cutting at him.

The man returned with his own attack, canceling each other's and causing them both to skid back a bit.

The two of them lunged towards each other once again, exchanging blow after blow.

I was unable to keep up with them as their speed gradually increased and they danced around the arena, sending sparks flying around.

*Boom!*

As they moved around, the force of their blows slowly chipped away at parts of the arena's structure.

*Clang!*

After exchanging many blows, their attacks canceled each other and they were pushed away from each other. However, they kept their eyes locked while they struggled to catch their breath.

The man grinned. **"I'm surprised you lasted this long, considering you only have one arm."**

Sigi's grip on his blade tightened. "I'm not going to lose!"

 **"Say it while you can,"** the man said. **"But, if you can't stop my next attack, then it's game over for you!"**

*HSHHH!*

The man's crimson aura erupted into a beam, trembling the arena. The aura then began taking the shape of a giant devil, brandishing a longsword.

The arena quaked as it glared down at Sigi, slowly making its way towards him.

Despite his condition and the giant that was rapidly approaching him, Sigi remained calm.

*Clang!* *KSHH!*

The devil lunged forward and slashed at Sigi.

The sword came down on Sigi. Though, instead of trying to dodge, he planted his feet firmly on the floor and, letting the sword come down, guarded against it, doing his best to push it back up.

His lightning aura amplified and caused lightning to bounce around the arena. Sigi pushed harder and more sparks were created.

Gritting his teeth and popping his veins, Sigi pushed even harder against the sword. Slowly, the sword was pushed further and further back.

"GRAH!"

*Bang!*

Letting out a cry, he pushed as hard as he could, managing to force the blade away and stagger the gigantic Devil. Before it could recover, Sigi burst forward, pushing past the Devil's aura.

Catching the man off guard by appearing in front of him, Sigi smashed his head into his, staggering the man and causing his devil to disappear.

Sigi then ran up to the man, driving his sword through his gut. Kicking him from the blade, Sigi cut away at the man until he was only a bloody mess with red markings and barely covered by the rags of his clothes.

*Clang!*

"Haa...G-Gh..." Sigi collapsed to the arena floor, out of breath and sweat drenching his body, dropping his weapon. His lightning aura faded away.

"…" We all remained silent as we watched the two of them.

"H-Heh..." Despite his condition, the man forced a chuckle as he returned to his original look; though, he was still bloody and in rags. Somehow, he picked himself up.

Sigi forced his head up to look at the man as he walked over to him. "I-I guess...that means I lose, d-doesn't it?"

"W-What are you talking about...?" The man smiled. He then sat down in front of Sigi. "Come on. Sit, don't just lay there."

Sigi forced himself to a sitting position. He looked as if he would pass out at any moment. "A-Aren't you going...to kill me...?"

The man shook his head. "I lost; I can't heal from this. I already used up all of my energy fighting against you. Pretty soon, I'll die of blood loss."

Sigi smiled. "That's...a shame. I actually enjoyed my fight with you."

"Same goes for me," the man returned with his own smile. "I don't know who you are, but something about you feels familiar. You—despite only having one arm—managed to beat me. I commend you for that. Though, there's something I need to tell you."

"W-What is it?" Sigi watched the man curiously.

Putting his hand onto Sigi's shoulder, he spoke. "Those powers you displayed were amazing. But that's honestly not the reason why you won. In all honestly, those powers don't mean anything."

Sigi watched him carefully. "What do you mean?"

The man remained smiling as his breathing gradually slowed down. "I-In the end... It's your will—your reason for fighting—which makes you strong. These powers and weapons don't matter. It's about what our will to fight is. N-Now...what's yours?"

Sigi stared at the man for a second, seeming to ponder his question. Then, he answered. "My will is to protect the ones that I love, no matter what, and see them happy. I'll even risk my own life for that!"

The man's smile grew wider as his breathing began shortening. "T-That's a good will to fight for... Y-You're...just like...me... S-So...stick to that...a-and live by it..."

As his last words were spoken, the man let out his final breath. His eyes closed and his body fell, resting on Sigi's shoulder. However, he still wore his smile.

Sigi's body began trembling. But a smile crossed his face. "T-Thank you..."

As he said those final two words, the world around him turned to white, signaling the simulation had ended.

Despite all odds, Sigi had beaten the man with one arm.

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

After the world around me had turned to white, I had opened my eyes to find myself back in the testing room. Instead of feeling the exploding pain of my right arm, there wasn't any at all. Turning to it, I saw that it wasn't there. Though, there was no pain.

"Well, well... It looked like you actually managed to pull it off..."

I turned my attention back up to find the Researcher grinning at me. "Though, you did lose an arm in the process..."

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll go get that fixed soon."

"You can do that all you want later," the Researcher said. "Anyways, congratulations on winning. You're one of the only few to survive that simulation."

"Thanks," I did my best to smile as he unhooked the devices attached to me. "But why isn't there any pain in my arm. It was cut off..."

"I injected a numbing serum into you," he said. "Specifically, your arm. You won't feel the pain anymore. So, you could either leave your arm the way it is or choose to fix it."

I smiled. "I think I'll get it fixed. I don't think dual wielding is possible with only one hand anyways."

"I won't stop you," the Researcher said. "I'll let you be on your way. Once again though, congratulations. Andy and Victor came by too. They said you and Neptune are back in the tournament now."

"Thanks," I nodded as I rose from my seat and made my way out of the room, blinded by the fluorescent white lights.

Adjusting to them, I peeked my eyes open, revealing all of my friends standing by the doorway. All of them were smiling.

"Sigi!" Before I could say anything, Neptune had thrown her arms around me. Instantly, my attire became drenched in her tears. I patted her back. "I'm so glad you're alive!"

"You've been doing this a lot more recently," I said.

"I don't care! I'm just glad you're alive!" She repeated.

I let out a laugh, patting her back. "I'm glad to see you too, Neptune."

"Congratulations, Sigi," Luna ran up to me, beaming with a smile.

"Thanks, Luna," I returned her smile.

Shiri then approached me. "You know what that means though, right?"

I switched my attention to her. My smile grew even wider. "Of course I do! We're back in the Hades Tournament!"

"And since we just saw that ability of yours, that means we're going to have to train even harder to defeat you in the tournament," Brindle said.

I nodded. "Don't expect me to lose against you! I said I was going to win!"

"You guys can argue for all I care," Angel smirked. "I'll snatch that victory right from under your noses while you're all not looking!"

Brindle spun to him. "We're on the same team!"

"You're forgetting us," Blanc spoke up. "That cockiness is going to be your downfall."

"Yeah! Uzume is going to beat you!" Uzume said.

Our group turned to an uproar of cries, claiming who was going to win the tournament. However, I returned my attention to Neptune. She remained quite in my arms. "Don't worry, Neptune. I won't leave you."

Instead of sulking, Neptune giggled. "Now you just sound like a stereotypical anime character."

I let out a laugh. "Was it really that noticeable?"

Neptune then looked up at me, smiling. "It doesn't matter. I'll be happy as long as you're with me!"

I nodded. "I'll do my best to honor that..."

"Then how about we bust this pineapple stand and go do something more fun!?" Neptune suggested. "How about we head off to an arcade?"

I shrugged. "Sure. But let's agree that we should start putting in more time into training for the tournament."

Neptune remained smiling. "Don't worry! We'll worry about that later! Let's just go have some fun!"

Leaving everyone else behind, Neptune dragged me along with her.

I let out a sigh. "Can I at least get my arm fixed first?"


	20. Chapter 19

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 19]**

After a few hours of trying to find a place to get a new arm, we ended up at a building in a dark alleyway. Honestly, it looked like one of those spots where you would buy drugs from.

"Welp, here we are!" Neptune looked at the building, examining the structure.

I looked over at her. "Why do you sound so relaxed? Do you realize how shady this place looks?"

She shrugged. "I think it looks kinda cool! It's like one of those hidden bases where people go to get injected with weird serums! Then, they get superpowers!"

"…" I could only stare at her blankly. "Um... Just saying...a lot of those people get mutated. Plus, I'm not being injected with weird serums and having to sign some paper saying, 'I don't care what these people do to me.'"

Neptune shook her head, staring at me with a look of disappointment. "Can't you try thinking about things more creatively? Try to think funner!"

I let out a sigh. "Neptune, funner isn't even a word... Besides, I think you're hoping for way too much."

"You really need to loosen those hips," Neptune frowned at me. "Anyways, let's just get this over with and then go do something more fun!"

"Whatever," I took the lead and pushed the door open, making it squeak.

The door opened to reveal a concrete, echoey room that was dimly lit by a single bulb. In the room were several Researchers. One guy was smoking a cigarette, another was tinkering with various parts, and a girl was messing around with her watch.

Noticing us, they all turned their attention to our direction. The guy who had been tinkering walked up to us. "Hello there. What do you need from us?"

I nodded to my arm. At least, the place where it used to be. "I...uh...need a new arm."

He grinned. "Nice! Makes it easier that the whole thing was severed. Not that it's good that you lost your arm, but it makes this process a whole lot easier."

I shrugged. "Whatever works I guess..."

"Now, depending on how much you're willing to pay, we'll get you a good quality arm for the price," he explained. "And, if you're willing, we can add some enhancements to it."

I paused to think for a second. Then, I gave a nod. "Sure, I think I can get the best quality one. What are my enhancement options?"

"Here," he popped up his watches' display, popping up several monitors. He swiped the monitors in front of me. "Look through your options and pick what you'd like. That's just a basic list."

I stared at the displays in front of me.

 **[Options]**

 **Arm Quality**

 **High**

 **Normal**

 **Low**

 ***Optional skin to cover arm**

 **Arm Enhancements**

 **Limiter**

 **Pain Sensors**

 **Energy Cells**

 **Regenerative Cells**

I stared at my options, hovering over each option for details. After looking at my options, I checked the best arm quality and every arm enhancement.

The Researcher smiled. "I see you're picking every single one... Even with the best quality... You're going to have one hell of an arm."

"I just want to get this over with," I said.

He nodded as he examined my options. "Well, I can tell you that creating a skin cover shouldn't cost you anything."

"So are we ready to start?" I asked.

"Yes, just follow me into another room," his attention switched to Neptune. "Would you rather stay out here and wait or watch the process?"

Neptune formed a wide grin. "Doy! Of course I'm watching that!"

The Researcher gave a nod. "Alright, then follow me."

The two of us followed the man to the next room. This room looked practically the same as the last, only there was a table with various tools laid out and a leather seat for the patient.

I sat down on the leather armchair, Neptune stood beside me while the Researcher sat on a wooden stool, looking through his tools.

Giving a nod, he turned to me and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Alright, I'm going to need to ask you to sign this document, which states that any mishaps or malfunctions are on you and that you agree to this."

I took the pen from his other hand and looked over at Neptune. "Nevermind about that paper..."

I heard her let out a giggle as I signed the paper and handed the pen back.

The man gave a nod as he slipped the paper into his back pocket. "Alright. Now, I'm going to have to numb your body so you won't feel the pain. You can choose to stay awake during this procedure or sleep."

I shrugged. "I guess I'll stay awake as long as I don't feel it."

"Alright," the man nodded down to my body. "First, I'm going to have to ask you to remove your top. Specifically, anything that covers your upper body."

I lifted up my necklace. "What about jewelry?"

"I would recommend taking it off," he suggested. "Just to make sure nothing interferes."

I nodded, taking off the necklace and putting it into my jacket's pockets. Following that, I proceeded to take off my jacket and shirt, setting it on the table.

My gaze returned to the Researchers. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Okay. Now, try to ease back into the chair," the Researcher instructed me.

Doing so, he locked me down with the metal bands, biting into my skin.

He then pulled out a needle. Wiping away at the back of my arm, he injected the needle into my body, creating a slight pain. Though, it was quickly replaced with a numbing sensation filling my entire body.

"Hey, Sigi."

I looked up at Neptune. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Shouldn't you cut this part out?" She asked. "It might gross some people out."

I let out a sigh. "That's probably true. Alright, I guess we'll skip this..."

* * *

I stood in the empty white room, waiting for instructions. My top was exposed and I stared at my new arm, it's various parts showing.

"Alright, are you ready?" A voice came over the intercom.

I gave a nod. "Sure."

"Okay. We'll start by instructing you on how to use the various parts of your new arm," the Researcher explained. "After that, you'll test your abilities against a training bot that our faction created."

I gave a chuckle. "You better. I don't exactly have a weapon here."

"First, we're going to give you a weight," he said.

*Thud!*

"… W-What?" I stared at the weight that had crashed down in front of me. "What's the point of this?"

"We're going to teach you how to use your Limiter," the Researcher explained. "The weight in front of you can be adjusted to any weight. For that reason, we're going to teach you how to use your Limiter with that first."

I gave a nod. "So, can I grab the weight?"

"Go right ahead."

Hearing his confirmation, I grabbed a hold of the weight. However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't lift it even an inch off the floor. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING!?"

"Let us teach you how to use your Limiter first," the Researcher instructed.

Letting out a sigh, I released my hold on the weight and stood back up. "Alright, teach me then."

"Look at your arm," the Researcher instructed. "There should be a meter displaying your current limit. Right now, it should be set at zero. You can adjust it by tapping on that meter."

Giving a nod, I looked at the arm. Sure enough, there was a part of the steel that had a small meter. The bar was empty.

"Like this?" I tapped on the meter. Instantly, I felt my body surge with strength, though there was more surging through my arm. "Woah..."

"Good," the Researcher seemed happy. "Now, your output of strength has been enhanced throughout your entire body. If you noticed, there's more of an enhancement towards your arm."

"Yeah," I began jumping around, moving my body. No matter what I seemed to do, it didn't seem to tire me out. Not only had my strength been enhanced, but it didn't seem to affect my stamina.

"Now, your body overall has been enhanced. The current Limiter you're using doubles your output of strength. Basically, the amount of energy you use will always be the same. But, your output of force will be greater than your original," the Researcher explained. "From there, the output will increase for every level you bump up."

I smiled. "That's crazy..."

"Now, you can also quickly change your Limiter settings by binding it to certain finger actions. So, if you performed a certain action or a set of them with your fingers, you can change your Limiter by doing that."

I gave a nod. "Cool."

Scanning through the arm again, I quickly found the way to bind finger actions. After setting my Limiter settings, I smiled. "Okay, done."

"Now, try to lift that weight again," the Researcher suggested. "It's set at its maximum weight."

I walked up to the weight, setting the Limiter to two out of five.

Without any real effort, the weight came a few inches off the floor. Exerting my body a bit more, I was able to lift the weight up to my head.

For a moment, I just stared at it, unable to believe what I had just done. Then, I smiled and threw the weight back on the floor, creating a small crater and a loud crash.

I set my Limiter back to zero. "That's pretty amazing. How much force would I be able to output at five?"

"Don't ever crank it up to five," the Researcher said sternly. "Five is the highest, but, if you can't maintain the strain on your body with it, your body will destroy itself. Only use it in absolute life-or-death situations. Unless you know how to use it, he fifth level is an absolute last resort."

I gulped. "Alright..."

"Now, let's move onto your next enhancement," the Researcher cleared his throat. "You have pain sensors, which should be pretty self-explanatory; you can choose to turn them on or off. By default, they're off, so you'll feel pain. Then, there are your Energy Cells, which work together with your Regenerative Cells."

I shrugged. "What makes them so special? Don't they just increase the rate at which I heal?"

"Although they do speed up the rate at which you do heal, that's only part of what they do," he said. "No matter how damaged you are, these cells can heal you entirely. The only condition is that you need to suck the cells out of something, preferably robots. You can also get a charge in advance so that you can use it later."

A grin crossed my face. "That's pretty cool."

"Now, I'm going to have you fight a bot," the Researcher stated. "I recommend setting your Limiter to four for this. Also, your arm already has a Cell Charge on it."

I gave a nod and got into a stance, quickly setting the meter to four. "Alright! Let's do this!"

A single bot appeared in front of me. It had no weapons, only it's fists.

"A fist fight? That's a first," I let out a chuckle. "Let's do this!"

"…!" The bot charged at me, throwing a punch at an insane speed.

*CRASH!*

Somehow managing to step to the side of it, I kicked at its stomach, launching it into the wall.

The bot quickly recovered and bounced off of the wall, aiming at me. This time, it tackled me to the floor, smashing its head into mine.

Doing my best to ignore the pain, I kicked the bot off of me. While it was staggered, I threw a punch at it, connecting with its jaw.

Parts of the bot chipped off as it fell to the floor.

*SMASH!*

Before it could get up, I crushed it's head, blowing various parts everywhere.

I then let my meter reset to zero. The pain erupted in my body, and I quickly activated the Cell Charge, instantly healing me. I then walked to the bot and sucked it's cells dry.

Turning around, I found the Researcher and Neptune smiling at me. "Congratulations."

I returned their smiles. "Can I get the skin on this thing now?"


	21. Chapter 20

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 20]**

 **[Brindle]**

Shiri, Luna and I sat in the library, quietly reading our books while the snow drifted to the ground. "…"

"GUYS! HELP!"

Suddenly, Sigi appeared in the library. Before we knew it, he was hiding under the table that we sat at, trying to catch his breath.

We all stared at him, curiously.

"Sigi, what's wrong?" I asked. "And why are you hiding under our table?"

He looked over at me. "The Angel's Ball is coming up!"

Shiri shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"ALL OF THESE GIRLS KEEP CHASING AFTER ME AND ASKING IF I'LL GO WITH THEM!" He blurted out.

Shiri and I exchanged a look before bursting out into a laugh. "Well, that's a you problem! Sorry, Sigi!"

He rose from his hiding place. "This isn't a joke! For these past few weeks, I haven't been able to go anywhere without some girl coming onto me! I can't hang out with Neptune, I can't wake up peacefully and training is impossible! They even wait for me outside the bathroom when I'm trying to take a piss!"

"Look on the bright side," Shiri said. "It's almost the holidays. There's only about a week or two before we get off for our holiday break."

I let out a chuckle. "Still, it's pretty funny that girls are asking him out now. It's only December. Usually, if there's a dance, people ask a week or two before."

He nodded to me. "Yeah! Do you see the problem here?! If this keeps up, I'll end up being chased by a whole swarm of them!"

"Oh, that reminds me of something!" Luna suddenly turned to Shiri, wearing a smile. "Do you want to come over to our place for the holidays?"

"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME!" Sigi shouted. "AND WHY ARE YOU SUDDENLY INVITING HER!?"

Luna turned to face her older brother. "First, this a library, so try to be quiet. Second, I'm inviting her because Jewel asked me to invite some people if we wanted to; I thought it'd be kinda nice, y'know?"

Sigi sat on the floor, shaking his head. "Whatever..."

Luna's attention switched back to Shiri. "So, do you want to come over? Neptune's coming, too."

Sigi gave a nod. "Yeah, I think Jewel would like to have you over."

Shiri paused for a moment, pondering the question. Then, she shrugged. "Sure. What have I got to lose?"

"Cool!" Luna smiled. "By the way, can you try to help me improve my magic while we're there? I'm not saying you have to, but I'd very much appreciate it."

Shiri returned her smile. "It's not a problem, I'll try."

"Actually, I have a question," I suddenly spoke up.

Sigi looked over at me. "What's up?"

"Can I come over too?" I asked. "I don't know if you guys would let me, but I'd still like to go."

"…" I waited to hear Sigi's words of denial.

But, instead, he smiled. "Sure. The more the merrier. If there's anyone else you want to invite, just go ask them. Jewel wouldn't mind. In fact, she enjoys the company a lot."

"Thanks," I smiled back. "I might go ask Angel later. We have a training session in a bit."

"That's cool," Sigi said.

Shiri looked over at me. "Are you teaming up with Angel for the Hades Tournament?"

I nodded. "Yup."

"Honestly, I thought he would have teamed up with Plutia to win the tournament," Luna commented.

I shrugged. "He probably would have if I hadn't asked him."

"By the way," I looked over at Sigi. "How's your training going, now that you have that new arm?"

Sigi grinned, lifting his arm for us to see. The arm still looked like a normal arm, but there were several small parts that glowed and showed through. Though, if you didn't try to look for it, it looked like Sigi's original arm.

"Training has been going great!" He said; he looked over at Shiri. "Why don't you tell her?"

Shiri shrugged. "Well, that arm has rapidly improved the amount of training we can get done. Not only that, but it's allowed us for some more creative formations."

I gave an understanding nod. "I see..."

"Well, I better get going," Luna rose from her seat. "I have to call Jewel and tell her of the people that now want to come over."

Sigi whirled his head to her. "Can I join you? I need to escape those girls. Plus, I want to see Jewel."

Luna shrugged. "Sure, let's go."

The two of them hurried off, leaving me with Shiri. "I have to go, too," I said. "It's almost time for my training session."

Shiri looked up from her book, smiling. "That's fine. Make sure you work hard."

I gave a nod before hurrying off to the BSA.

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

I let out a sigh, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. I looked over at Neptune, who was happily eating her pudding. "Neptune, are you sure you want to be eating pudding right now? Once we get to Jewel's place, we'll be eating dinner."

Neptune shook her head. "I can't wait that long!"

Luna and I stared at her with worry. "Even though it's only a five-minute train ride..."

"Please don't tell me she's always like this..." Noire said.

"You've seen her act like this before," Vert stated. "By now, you should know that this is exactly how she is."

"That's going to be a bother..." Noire muttered.

"As long as I can read quietly, I'll be happy..." Blanc said.

I looked over at them. "Jeez..."

After I had told Brindle to ask Angel if he wanted to come over, Angel had apparently gone out and asked more people to come along.

I turned my attention over to Angel. "Why did you have to go and ask so many more of us to join?"

Angel shrugged. "All I did was ask Plutia."

I looked over at Plutia. She was napping on her backpack. "Then I guess she invited someone else, and that cycle continued..."

Angel shrugged. "Probably..."

"Uzume is cold!" Looking over at her, I found that she was wearing an oversized, furry coat. Though, she was still shivering. "Is the Tommy almost here yet?"

"Tommy?" Luna and I exchanged looks.

"I think she means the train..." Shiri corrected.

*Ding!*

"It is now," as if on cue, the train arrived and we all filed in, taking our seats.

It was now around the holidays and that meant a holiday break. Since school started back up in January, that meant that we had a few weeks to do whatever we wanted. But, I still had to go out and buy gifts for everyone.

Though I knew what I was going to get most of them, I somehow didn't know what to get Neptune.

Plus, every time I thought of her now, it made me think of Luna's words.

I quickly shook the thought away and stared out the window, watching the buildings pass by.

"Hey, Sigi," turning around, I found Neptune tugging on my sleeve. "Do you want to do something over the break?"

I stared at her curiously. "Yeah? Like what?"

I noticed a faint red enter her cheeks. "I-I don't know... Something that the two of us could do together and have fun. Y'know?"

I nodded. "Alright, sure. I'm down."

"Cool," Neptune smiled.

I had expected her to reply with some dumb comment. Instead, she just gave a simple reply, which caught me off guard.

*Ding!*

I quickly shook the thought away as the train arrived. We all filed out.

I turned to Luna. "You wanna lead the way?"

She smiled. "Sure."

Following her, we all made our way over to Jewel's suite. Knocking on the door, she peeked it open.

"What the hell!?" Her eyes bulged when she saw all the people with us and swung the door open. "I thought you were going to only bring a few people!"

I shrugged, sighing. "Guess plans changed. On the bright side, it'll be a more lively Christmas."

Jewel just shook her head. "I guess. The only problem I have is the number of people. We don't have enough mattresses for that."

"We'll just use the top suites," Luna suggested. "We can pay for it."

Jewel bit at her lip but quickly shook her head. "Hold on. Come inside first and stop standing out there!"

Jewel ushered us in and we all poured into the living room. Luna, Neptune and I sat in the kitchen with Jewel.

"Alright," Jewel let out a deep breath. "I get it if you can afford the suites. But, who's going to go up there and who's going to be in here? I have seven possible sleeping places, counting my bed."

I counted our group before turning back to face Jewel. "Easy. All we have to do is have two people bunk each suite and then the rest can sleep here."

"But who's going to go?" Jewel questioned.

"I'll go," I said. "Someone else can bunk with me. Then, another two can take the other room."

Jewel gave a nod. "I guess that could work. While you guys figure out where you're going to sleep, I'm going to get dinner ready."

As Jewel went off to prepare dinner, I turned back to the group. "Alright, who wants to bunk with me?"

Luna and Neptune both raised their hands. Though, as soon as Neptune's hand shot up, Luna put her hand down.

I shrugged. "Alright, I guess you and I could bunk together, Neptune."

Neptune smiled. "Alright! We're gonna have a pillow fight then!"

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her comment. "Okay, who's going to take the second room?"

Angel raised his hand. "I'll take it if you don't mind."

I shrugged. "Go for it. Nobody's going to stop you. Do you know who you're going to bunk with though?"

Angel gave a nod. "Yeah, I'm bunking with Plutia."

I smiled. "Cool. Then I guess everyone else will sleep here?"

Looking at them for confirmation, everyone nodded.

I smiled and turned to Neptune. "Alright, let's go get a room."

Neptune formed a wide grin. "Alright!"

I hurried into the kitchen. "Jewel, Neptune and I are taking a room. Angel's going with Plutia."

Without looking away from her task, she gave a nod. "Alright. Neptune, come down here later. I need to talk to you."

"Sure," Neptune gave a nod as we began making our way out of the suite.

I looked over at Luna. "Make sure everyone finds their way around. Angel, you take Plutia and come with me."

Both Luna and Angel nodded.

Angel heaved Plutia onto his back and gave a look of confirmation. That was my cue to go.

Leading the way, we made our way to the front desk and requested two rooms. We then made our way up to the indicated floor.

I stopped at the end of the hall, nodding to one of the doors. "Angel, that's the room where you and Plutia will be sleeping in. Here," I tossed him the keys. "Have fun."

I turned my attention to the room where I was going to be crashing with Neptune. Opening it, I allowed Neptune to enter first. "After you."

Neptune smiled. "Wow, you're such a gentleman, aren't you?"

She picked up her backpack and walked in. As she entered, I followed after, closing the door.

There wasn't much in the room. There was simply a single white king-sized bed, a bathroom, a nightstand and a TV mounted to the wall.

I set my bag down by Neptune's by the bed. I watched as she let out a sigh and flopped down onto the bed. I smiled at her. "Are you already tired?"

She shrugged and stretched out her arms, letting out a yawn. "Just a bit. I just want to do something, y'know?"

I gave a nod. "Don't worry. We have several weeks to do whatever we want to."

Neptune stared up at the ceiling. "Yeah..."

"I'm going to take a shower," I said. "If you have anything you want to do, go do it now. Dinner will be soon."

Neptune gave a nod, hopping off the bed. "I'm going to go talk to Jewel. Have a hot, steamy shower!"

I replied with a smile as she dashed out of the room.

* * *

After I had showered and gotten dressed, I had found Neptune lying on the bed, playing a game on the TV. "Neptune, it's almost time for dinner. Are you sure you should be playing games right now?"

"Oh," Neptune paused her game and set down her controller. "Do you think I have time to shower?"

I shrugged. "Probably. Better make it fast though."

Neptune nodded. "Cool! You go on without me! I'll be there in a bit!"

I gave a nod as she hurried to the bathroom. Before I left the room, I called to her. "Make sure to turn off the lights before you leave!"

"I got it!" She called back.

Letting out a sigh, I closed the door behind me and began making my way to Jewel's suite.


	22. Chapter 21

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 21]**

As I entered Jewel's place, Neptune appeared at the door just before I could close it. "Man, that really was fast. How'd you manage to shower, dry your hair and get dressed in under five minutes?"

Neptune grinned as she pulled the door open and entered. "That's a secret! You're just too slow!"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Let's go eat."

We made our way to the table, finding everyone already there and a various spread of food.

As we took our seats, Jewel smiled at us. "Well, it took you two long enough. What was the wait?"

"Showering," I answered. "I'm just here to eat."

"Alright, alright," Jewel grinned as she picked up her silverware. "Let's eat."

Everyone nodded and followed Jewel's motion of picking up their silverware. We then all began piling food onto our plates.

While we ate, we conversed amongst each other. I looked over at Neptune. For some reason, she was staring at the everyone.

"Hey," I nudged at her shoulder. "What's up? You're spacing out."

"H-Huh?" Neptune turned to me, snapping from her trance. She simply smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it! I-I was just thinking about some things."

"Are you sure?" I pressed on. "We can talk about it if you want."

"It's fine," Neptune said. She turned to Jewel. "Jewel, do you know what dessert will be?"

Jewel smiled, giving a nod. "I made a cake."

"Cool!" As Neptune's grin widened, she returned to eating her food.

Though, I was still worried about her.

"Sigi, aren't you going to eat?"

"H-Huh?" I spun my head to Brindle. She stared at me worriedly. "O-Oh yeah. Sorry..."

I returned to eating my food with everyone else. But the thought of Neptune remained in my head.

* * *

"Alright!" Neptune kicked the door open.

I shook my head as I walked in after her. "Neptune, you realize that, if we break that door, we're going to have to pay for it, right?"

Neptune simply smiled. "It's all good! It's nothing some duct tape can't fix!"

I let out a sigh as I clicked the door behind me shut. "Whatever. If we're going to have to pay for the door, you're going to be the one to pay."

"We can worry about those details later!" Neptune said. "C'mon! Let's sleep in the same bed and tell stories or something!"

I turned to face her. "I thought I was sleeping on the floor."

"You're a dummy," Neptune ran up to me and pinched my cheek. "Why would we get a big bed if only one of us was going to sleep in it?"

I pried her hand off my cheek. "I don't know. You're a girl. Maybe you want some privacy or something."

"Nope!" Neptune grinned widely. "We're going to sleep in the same bed. No questions allowed!"

I let out a sigh as she pulled me onto the bed.

She threw the blankets over me and pressed her soft body against mine. I looked back at her. "H-Hey, shouldn't you change into your sleepwear?"

"Oh, that's right," Neptune rolled off the bed and covered my face with the blankets. "No peeking or I'll kick you in the face!"

"Don't worry, I know," Through the light of the white blankets, I could see her shadow shifting around. But, as she had asked, I kept my head down, buried into the pillow.

"Okay, you can look now!" Pulling off the blanket, the light glared at me, trying to rip through my shut eyes. I looked up from the pillow to see Neptune wearing lilac, cotton pajamas. "How's it look?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Looks like sleepwear."

"Aw, c'mon!" Neptune stuck out her tongue as she got back onto the bed and draped the blankets over her once again. "Sigi, that's no way to compliment a girl!"

"Well, what am I supposed to say?" I asked, staring into her eyes. "I'm not good at that type of stuff."

"Whatever," Neptune let out a sigh. "You change and then we'll cuddle."

"Sure, Neptune. As long as it can get you to sleep," I took my turn and rolled from the bed; I began changing into my nightwear. "Neptune, are you looking?"

"How'd you know!?" she asked from behind. "Do you have cameras hidden in this room!? Or is it that you also got eyes installed to the back of your head?"

I turned back to her. Her face peeked through the blankets. "Neptune, I've known you since we were six. How would I not know that?"

She frowned. "Well, there are still some things that you don't know and should!"

I shook my head and returned to changing clothes. "Okay, Neptune. Sure."

After I had finished, I threw my normal clothes next to my bag. Switching the lights off, I returned to the bed and rolled into it, pulling up the blankets.

I felt Neptune press against me again, her arms wrapping around me. "You don't mind, right Sigi?"

I shook my head, closing my eyes. "No, I don't. It's alright."

I heard her let out a giggle close to my ear. "I'm glad!"

I turned my body to face her. Her face was a few inches from mine, our bodies were touching. I was so close to her that I could feel the heat of her breath.

I chuckled as I stared into her soft eyes. "You're a really funny person, you know that?"

"H-Huh?" She stared at me with a surprised expression. "W-Why's that?"

"You like being around me, don't you?"

As she gave a timid nod, I smiled. "You really do remind me of Luna..."

She gave me a confused look. "What do you mean? I'm not even your sister."

"She always tries to find an excuse to spend time with me," I explained. "In that regard, you're like her. But, at the same time, you're not like her at all; you're special in your own way."

Neptune stared at me with a blank expression, her cheeks were slowly reddening. "S-Sigi, what are you saying?"

I smiled. "I'm saying that I'm glad we met. Whatever may have happened before we met, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just glad that we met. It makes me really happy."

Neptune snapped from her blank expression and burst into a laugh. "You're really weird, y'know?"

I shrugged. "That's how I feel."

Neptune stopped laughing and smiled back at me. "And I feel the same way, too."

"I'm glad you also feel that way," I continued to smile. "Though, I'm still not sure what to get you for Christmas..."

"I don't mind if you get me anything," Neptune said. "I'm just scared you won't like what I'm going to get you..."

"What is it?" I asked. "Usually, you just give me a cup of pudding and threw a bucket of snow at me. What's there to be afraid of?"

Neptune's face was now a burning red. "I-It's just...I'm scared that you won't accept it..."

I watched her cautiously. "Accept it?"

"I don't wanna talk about it!" Neptune whined. She then shoved my face into my pillow. "It's bedtime!"

Instead of taking my face out of the pillow, I simply just closed my eyes and waited for sleep to take over. "Good night... I guess..."

* * *

 **[Angel]**

"…" Quiet and peaceful. That was the best way to enjoy a muffin in the morning.

As I sat on the bed and ate my blueberry muffin, I watched Plutia cuddle with a giant stuffed animal.

"…" She looked peaceful sleeping like that. To me, it was kind of cute. Though, I didn't want to really do anything weird to her. For some reason, being around her made me happy.

Her personality was relatable to mine and, in general, it was just nice to be around her.

I popped the last bit of the muffin into my mouth. "Maybe I know what I'll get her for Christmas..."

I stood up from the bed, stretching my arms and looked over at Plutia. She was still asleep and didn't seem like she was getting up anytime soon.

Then again, it was only dawn.

I quickly changed into my clothes, took a quick, cold shower and headed out with my sword.

* * *

 **[Brindle]**

"Haaa..." I let out a breath as I skidded to a stop, doing my best to catch my breath.

I looked up at the sun. It was just now starting to rise. Having woken up an hour earlier, I had finally finished my run.

Now, all I had to do was find something to hunt for. Even though there was food being provided for me, I still liked to keep my skills sharp.

"…" I unsheathed my blades and closed my eyes, listening to the nature that surrounded me. I allowed myself to feel the nature, to be part of it.

"…!"

*Shk!*

As I felt it move, I threw one of my swords at the direction. Peeking my eyes open, I gulped. "Didn't think I'd still be this keen..."

Walking to where my blade had stuck into, I couldn't help but stare at the squirrel that had been stabbed.

As I pulled my blade out, I caught the squirrel and stared at it. Around the part of where it had been stabbed was a splatter of blood.

I used the ground to wipe away the blood on my blade and put them back into their sheaths. I then set the squirrel onto the ground, setting it ablaze.

The smoke and stench rose to the air while I walked away from it.

*BOOM!*

Suddenly, the ground shook and I fell to the ground. Regaining my balance, I quickly made my way to the top of a tall tree, looking for the source of the tremor.

In a clearing, there was a dark aura radiating and several gigantic wolves surrounding it.

Curiosity got the best of me and I began making my way over to the clearing.

* * *

"DIE!"

*SHK*

As I arrived at the clearing, I was met by the sight of a dark figure stabbing their sword through one of the wolves.

Pulling their blade from the wolf, the figure kicked the wolf away and turned to face the rest that were inching forward.

I let the flames engulf my body. I didn't want to just sit and watch. Plus, it seemed like an interesting fight.

*FSH!*

I burst forward and rammed into the wolves, causing them to crash to the ground. The flames disappeared from my body, and I turned to face the figure. "H-Huh?"

The dark matter that had been on him disappeared and revealed Angel's face. His face was similar to mine, showing surprise. "B-Brindle? What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking the same to you," I snapped back.

He shrugged. "I wanted to train a bit. I don't want my skills to get rusty over the break."

I smiled. "I guess you had the same thought as me."

"So why are you here then?" Angel asked once again.

I nodded. "Like I said, it's the same reason as you. I don't want to lose my skills either. While I was doing some exercises, I saw that you were fighting those wolves. That brings us to now."

He gave a nod. "Fair enough..."

"GROOAR!"

Turning back, we found that the wolves were making their way towards us. Their blood red eyes glaring right at us.

I let out a sigh and unsheathed my blade. "Well, I guess this could be good practice for our formations."

He shrugged. "Might as well use one. At least these aren't those dumb training bots..."

"GRAHH!"

As the wolves bounded forward, Angel cloaked himself in the dark matter and charged towards the wolves.

While he kept them distracted, I engulfed my body in flames.

The air became tight and I could hardly breathe. As the flames took the form of a dragon, I forced out a breath, lifting the tight air and causing the flames to burst towards Angel and the wolves.

*FSH!*

The flames exploded as they touched the wolves, setting them and Angel ablaze.

"AHAHAHA!" Despite his burning condition, Angel howled out with laughter as his body became completely consumed by the dark matter.

A dark crimson aura began to radiate from Angel's body as he jabbed his hand into the insides of one of the wolves, clawing away at its insides.

As Angel ripped the last of the wolf's insides out, it crumpled to the ground and burned to a crisp.

Without wasting any more time, he sped by the next wolf, slicing its head clean off. That left one last wolf.

The dark matter began to disappear from his body, signaling me to set white flames at his position. The burns and injuries on his body healed quickly as if they had never been.

I followed by unsheathing my broadswords and running up to the wolf.

*Clang!*

As it bit at me, I used my blades to push it back, allowing Angel to move.

*Shk!*

While the wolf was staggered, Angel ran up to it and drove his blade through its body. As he kicked it off, I set the wolf ablaze and it burned to a crisp just as quick as the other one.

We both let out a breath and faced each other. I shook my head. "You know, your name is REALLY ironic."

Angel smiled. "Thanks."


	23. Chapter 22

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 22]**

 **[Shiri]**

Winter: The season of death. It was the season that withered old things away and bloomed new things.

That being said, it was now Christmas Day.

I brushed my hair away and looked around the room. Everyone else was still asleep.

As quietly as I could, I made my way out of the suite and towards the elevator.

"Hm?"

Upon arriving in the lobby, I caught a glimpse of someone exiting the complex. That someone happened to be Neptune.

"Where's she going...?" Tuning myself in with nature, I scanned the area around. Wherever Neptune was heading, it was definitely atop a building.

I let out a sigh. "Well, this was an unexpected turn of events..."

Shifting into a stealthier stance, I began to trail Neptune to wherever she was heading off to.

* * *

"…" After following her and scaling rooftops, we had climbed to one of the tallest buildings in Rouge, looking down on the city and its people.

I held my breath as I watched her. Neptune sat on the peak of the building, staring down at the people while her legs dangled.

She suddenly stood back up and hopped off the peak, smiling. "Shiri, stop trying to hide. If this were a game of hide-and-seek, I would've won!"

"…!"

"Boo!"

"Ah!"

She suddenly appeared in front of me, tightly grabbing my shoulders. I had let out a yelp and jolted at her sudden appearance.

"Hehehe!" As I struggled to catch my breath, Neptune giggled. "I win!"

I shook my head as I let out a sigh. "H-How'd you know I was following you?"

"Hmmm..." Neptune put a finger to her chin to think. "About the time when we started Mirror's Edging the buildings!"

I stared at her blankly. "W-What are you talking about...?"

"Oh, sorry. You wouldn't get that reference..." Neptune let out a sigh and kicked at the asphalt. "Darn... Where's Sigi when you need him...?"

I watched as she pouted. "W-Well, what are you doing up here?"

"O-Oh..." Hearing my question, Neptune looked back at me, a bit of red entering her cheeks. "Well, I was planning some things out here. Besides, this place holds value to me."

I smiled. "I can understand that. But can I ask what makes this place so special to you?"

Neptune giggled once again. "This place is where I first met Sigi."

"Didn't you two meet during the school year?" I asked.

"Nope! When he told you that story, he meant that we met _again_ in class," Neptune cleared up. "We first met right before the year started."

I scanned the building top. "Up here?"

Neptune gave a nod. "Yeah. He was training and scaling buildings. I was trying to outrun the law..."

"What do you mean?" I continued asking.

She stared into my eyes, her eyes soft. "Back then, I was always alone. I didn't have a family or anything; I was alone. For several years, I was moving from place to place, stealing and doing crimes just to survive. Eventually, the law caught up with me. But, that was when I met Sigi..."

"What happened?" I questioned.

Neptune's gaze turned to the sky. "This was the building where the law had finally caught up to me. I had nowhere else to go; I was cornered. Fortunately for me, Sigi had just scaled the building and had saved me by knocking the police out."

"So what happened after that?" I asked for a final time.

Neptune scratched at the back of her head. "I-I ran... I was scared and it was my instinct. But, when the school year started, that was when I actually met him. He was the first to accept me, and it made me so, so happy..."

I watched Neptune. Her face was soft and tears flowed down her cheeks, shimmering from the dim morning sunlight.

I smiled. "I get it then; I know why you're up here. I'll leave you be and get back to what I was going to do."

"H-Huh?" Neptune turned back to me as I began making my way to the edge of the building. "Y-You're going to go?"

I spun my head back to face her. "Yup. I'm going to let you get to what you were going to do," I smiled. "By the way, have fun with Sigi tonight!"

"H-Hey!"

As I jumped from the building, I heard Neptune call for me. "H-How'd you know about that!?"

Instead of looking back to answer her, I simply just kept jumping from building to building, creating more distance between us.

She had also made me realize something; she was like me in so many ways.

She was alone in the world and didn't have anyone. But she made the best out of her situation and eventually met Sigi, someone who cared for and helped her.

And now, I had been offered the same opportunity. I had met Sigi, Luna, Neptune, Brindle, Angel and so many other people who had chosen to be my friends.

If I really did have the same chance as Neptune, then I was going to take it and remake my life. I was going to become a better me.

Winter was a season of death, but it paved the way for new things to blossom.

And that was what I was going to do.

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

It was Christmas. More specifically, Christmas Morning.

"Sigi, wake up! It's Christmas!"

*Pof!*

"Ow!" As Neptune's voice rang in my ears, a stinging cold sensation suddenly hit my face and I was forced out of my sleep, spitting it from my mouth. It was snow.

"Merry Christmas, Sigi!" Wiping the snow off my face, I was met by Neptune and her beaming smile. Even though I had been angry, her smile seemed to somehow soothe me.

I let out a sigh. "There are 365 days in a year. Out of all of those days, you chose today to be the only day to actually wake up earlier."

Neptune giggled. "But that's because it's Christmas! Who doesn't like Christmas?!"

I shrugged. "I don't know; I do know that you should get dressed and stop wearing your sleepwear. Look, your top is even starting to show."

"Oop!" As she noticed that her top was barely covered, Neptune quickly buttoned it back up. "First, it wouldn't even be a problem if you hadn't pointed it out. Second, I like it a bit loose!"

I let out a groan, shaking my head. "Neptune, please think before you say anything. Seriously, some of the stuff that comes out of your mouth is best left in your head."

"Bleh!" Neptune stuck out her tongue before proceeding to flick my forehead like usual. "Lighten up! It's Christmas; it's a time for presents and pudding!"

I rolled out of the bed and went to get my clothes, proceeding to the bathroom. "Pretty sure it's a time for family and friends."

"Oh, that's right!" Just before I could close the door to the bathroom, Neptune stuck her foot in between the small gap, preventing me from closing the door. "Sigi, I need to ask you something!"

I stared at her in surprise. "Do you have to do it now? I'm about to go take a shower. Can it wait?"

Neptune shook her head. "Even if you chop my leg off by forcing this door close, I'll still tell you! It's that important!"

I rolled my eyes and swung the door open. "Okay, then what is it?"

Neptune gave a nod. "Well, I have your present ready! And I was wondering if you wanted to see it after breakfast or tonight—which is the better time."

I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'll see it tonight. Besides, I still have to get your present..."

Neptune shook her head. "It's okay if you didn't get me anything. If you accept my present tonight, that'll be the only present I need."

"A-Alright..." I watched as Neptune ran back to the bed before quietly closing the door. "What's gotten into her lately...?"

I shook my thoughts away and went off to take a shower. I just needed to wake myself up.

* * *

"Ah, Merry Christmas, you two."

After the two of us had showered and gotten dressed, we had made our way down to Jewel's suite, where everyone was already eating, even Plutia—the girl who did nothing but sleep.

Then again, we had hurried to a store to buy last minute gifts.

I gave a nod to Jewel. "Merry Christmas, Jewel."

Neptune and I took our seats down at the table and began eating away at our breakfast.

"Oh, hey," Brindle looked over at Jewel, taking a sip from her milk. "Are we going to exchange gifts after this?"

Jewel nodded and smiled. "Yeah. After we've eaten and cleaned the table, we'll start exchanging gifts."

"Let's clear something up first," Noire said. "There's no way that Angel is washing the dishes again!"

"Why?" He asked. "Honestly, I thought I washed them pretty well."

"You did wash them well," Blanc admitted. "But you almost broke them all."

He let out a sigh. "I guess you're right..."

"What about you, Sigi?" Vert asked. "Would you like to wash the dishes?"

I pondered the question for a second. "Do I have a choice?"

Vert shook her head as a smile appeared on her face. "I'm glad that you at least know your options..."

I let out a sigh. "Sure, whatever..."

"Oh, that reminds me," Jewel looked over at Neptune. "Neptune, where's your usual present for Sigi? I didn't see it under the tree."

"O-Oh..." Neptune's cheeks reddened a bit as she forced out a laugh. "W-Well, I actually got him a present this year, an actual one"

"Really?" Jewel's eyes widened a bit. "Can you tell me what it is?"

Neptune shrugged. "Later. For now, let a Nep eat in peace!"

As Jewel let out a laugh, her attention turned to me. "Sigi, did you buy gifts for everyone?"

Sipping from my cup, I let out a sigh. "Yeah, but I didn't have much time to get them..."

"It's the thought that counts," Shiri said. She smiled. "I'm just happy that I can spend Christmas like this..."

Her smile made me copy it. "You're right. Still, I do feel bad for not buying them in advance."

"Uzume is just happy she gets to be around all of her friends!" Uzume said.

"She's right," Vert nodded and looked over at me. "Sigi, Christmas is about friends and family, not about presents."

"…" I stared at her blankly. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Neptune tisked. "Sigi, it's time for you to wise up and learn the true meaning of Christmas."

I spun my head to face her. "I don't want to hear this from you!"

"Hehe!" However, Neptune just continued to smile.

"C'mon," Jewel stood up from the table, collecting her plates. "You all need to finish up eating and get to cleaning off the table so that we can get to presents."

Everyone gave a nod. "Alright!"


	24. Chapter 23

**There's currently an OC poll on my page if you'd like to vote on it, or you can submit your own OC and have it added to the poll. Voting on it is appreciated as the people who created the OCs were creative enough to do so and deserve credit along with some recognition. It isn't mandatory, but it is appreciated if you do vote.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 23]**

It was now around the evening, according to the time. The snow continued to drift down while Neptune and I scaled the buildings. After we all had a Christmas party and exchanged gifts with one another, Neptune had led me away from everyone.

Now, we were scaling buildings, and I had no idea where Neptune was taking me, which made me nervous.

The cold air blew past me as I did my best to follow Neptune in the snow. Despite how much snow there was, Neptune was moving extremely fast. To where, I had no idea.

As the snow began to clear up, Neptune finally stopped on a building and helped me up.

The snow had stopped and the sun had begun to shine through the cracks of the thick clouds.

The reflected snow reflected brightly, the sun shining down on us and casting long shadows from its orange glows; the sun was setting.

Neptune finally looked back at me; she wore a smile. "Sigi, we're here."

"Yeah..." I watched her eyes carefully. They were the same as they had been when we had slept together that one time: soft and glassy. "Is this where you wanted to take me to? To show me my present?"

Neptune gave a slow nod. "It is... Look."

My eyes followed her to the view below. We stood atop a building that overlooked Rouge and it's people. The sight brought back memories.

I smiled. "This is where you ran away..."

Neptune giggled softly. "Yup. It's also where you saved me and how this whole thing started."

"Yeah..." I continued to stare down. "We were both so young. Now, we're both adults and still here."

"I'm glad that we met..." Neptune said. "If we hadn't met that day, who knows what could've happened to either of us?"

I felt her hand wrap around mine and squeeze it. I looked over at her, finding a blush on her face. "Neptune, are you alright?"

She gave a nod. "I-I want to give you your present... S-So...close your eyes..."

Deciding not to resist, I closed my eyes, nervous as to what was going to happen.

"…!"

It was then that I felt a soft, sweet sensation press against my lips. A warm bliss ran through my body.

I knew what this was, and I accepted it.

Regaining a bit of my composure, I returned the gesture, savoring the bliss.

After a while, I opened my eyes and pulled away from Neptune, both of us struggling to catch our breath.

I looked at Neptune. Her cheeks were flushed and she stared at me worriedly.

I smiled at her. "Neptune, was that your present to me?"

Silently, she gave a timid nod. "Y-Yeah..."

I let out a laugh. "That's some present!"

"W-What's so funny!?" Neptune asked, pouting. "C'mon! Answer me!"

While she pouted, I grabbed her hands and returned with a squeeze. "Neptune, I love you."

"…" I watched as her face turned blank before turning red. "W-What...did you just say...?"

I gently kissed Neptune's soft lips again and repeated myself. "I love you..."

"S-Sigi..." Tears began to well up at the corners of Neptune's eyes, her body trembling. She then threw her arms around me. "I-I love you, too!"

I returned her embrace by wrapping my arms around her, bringing my head close to her's. "I'm glad to hear that."

"I-I've wanted to tell you for so long..." Neptune admitted. "But... I could never get it out..."

I let out a laugh. "Well, you just did. I guess this is my present to you, so Merry Christmas, Neptune."

"You too, Sigi..." As Neptune smiled, she planted a kiss on my cheek. "I love you..."

"Me too, Neptune," I said. "And I hope to stay with you for as long as I live, being there to protect you."

Neptune giggled and squeezed me. "Now you sound like one of those main characters in those—oh, wait..."

I burst out laughing. "C'mon, Neptune! Is there a brain in there?"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Neptune poked at my cheek. "We're supposed to happy and stuff, not making fun of each other!"

I shrugged. "I guess so. Sorry."

Neptune put her hands on her hips and let out a sigh. "Man, what would you do without me? You'd be so lost!"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. How about we just head on out and go do something? Isn't that what you wanted to do anyways over break?"

"Yeah..." Neptune admitted. "But can we at least watch the sunset first? I don't want to miss it and it's about over!"

I sighed. "Sure."

"Yay!" Neptune let out a happy squeal as she turned to face the setting sun. I copied her gesture.

As the two of us sat side by side together, I took Neptune's hand and squeezed it. She rested her head on my shoulder while the two of us watched the fiery orange ball of light slowly disappear from our view and the dark night sky slowly came over.

The orange reflected from Neptune's eyes and cast a shadow on her. Somehow, it made me realize how beautiful she was. At the same time, it made me really happy.

"Hey, Neptune," I watched as the last of the orange rays of the sun disappeared and we were cloaked in the night's darkness, dimly lit by the bright lights of the city below. "What's your dream?"

"Mine?" Neptune put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment. Then, she formed a wide grin. "I don't really have one! But if I did, it would be to always be with you, Sigi!"

I smiled. "Thanks."

"What's yours?" She asked. "Y'know, besides the stuff about your family, what dreams do you have?"

I began thinking while I stared at the twinkling stars. "I've never really thought about it. Maybe world peace. After that, live a happy life."

"Can I be a part of that happy life?" Neptune asked.

I nodded. "Of course. I just hope we can stay together for that long..."

Neptune looked up at the stars. "So do I... But, don't worry! After all, you're the protagonist of this story!"

I chuckled. "Hopefully that'll help..."

"Oh yeah," Neptune's cheeks suddenly flushed once again. "Do you want to go to the Angel's Ball with me?"

"The Angel's Ball..." I let out a sigh. "Yeah, sure... I'll go..."

"Why do you sound so sad though?" Neptune asked. "Do you not like dances or free food?"

I shook my head. "It's not that. It's just that there have been those girls chasing me for the past few months and asking if I'll go with them."

Neptune watched me carefully. "And you turned them all down. Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Part of it was because I just didn't have any reason to go. But, whenever they would ask me, I would always think of you and turn them down."

She squeezed my hand and pressed her lips on my forehead. "Thanks, Sigi..."

I shook my head. "It wasn't anything special. But, since you asked, I guess I could go with you."

"Hehe!" Neptune returned to her usual grin. "It'll be fun! I'll make sure of it!"

"Knowing you, it'll certainly be interesting," I said.

"But it's fun like that!" Neptune claimed. "Anyways, how about we get going to the city and get drunk or something?!"

I let out a sigh as Neptune dashed to hop from the building. "If we're going into the city, we're not getting drunk! We're just going to have fun!"

By the time I had said that, Neptune had become a distant shadow. "Yeah, yeah! Hurry your slow butt up!"

Letting out a final sigh, I chased after her in the night.

Though, a smile was plastered onto my face.

* * *

 **[Angel]**

"Hm?" I had decided to take a stroll to a river.

But, instead of just finding the river, I found Plutia there as well, napping under the shade of the tall tree while small mammals around stayed close to her.

As I got closer, I noticed that she had a lunch box by her.

I let out a sigh as I crouched down and nudged at her shoulder. "Hey, Plutia."

"H-Huh?" Her groggy eyes peeled themselves open and she took a moment to take in her surroundings before turning her attention to me, smiling. "O-Oh! Hi Angel..."

"Hey, Plutia," I sat down beside her. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"I was going to eat my lunch..." Plutia replied. "I even packed yummy cakes...!"

"But you fell asleep," I said. "Are you sure your food isn't cold?"

"O-Oh!" Hurriedly, Plutia looked for the lunchbox that rested beside her. Managing to find it, she pulled out a tray of rice balls. Though it was faint, there was still some steam emitting from them. "Yaaaay...! They're still warm and tasty!"

I shook my head. "Listen, you shouldn't fall asleep before you eat. Your food will get cold."

Plutia pouted and bowed her head. "Sorry..."

"No, you're fine..." I patted her head. "I'm just trying to look out for you, that's all."

"Ehehe..." She let out a giggle while I continued to pat her head, forming a faint blush. "I like it when you pat my head..."

I chuckled. "It's because I care about you."

Plutia smiled. "Meee, too...! Heeey, do you want to eat some of my food...? It's reaaally yummy..."

I shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Plutia then reached back inside the lunchbox and pulled out two rice balls, offering them to me. "Heeere..."

I smiled and gave a nod, taking the warm, sticky rice balls. "Thanks."

"Okay..." Plutia smiled as she stared at her food. "Let's eat...!"

The two of us then proceeded to quietly eat away at our food while we rested our backs against the tall tree. The only audible sounds were the flowing river, the light, whistling wind, and Plutia's chewing.

"Heeey, Angel..." As Plutia finished her food, she looked over at me. "Why do you spend soo much time with me...?"

"Hrmm..." I finished the last of my remaining rice ball quickly before looking for an answer to Plutia's question. But, I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just like being around you."

Plutia let out a giggle. "I like being around you too... You're sooo fun to play with..."

"I agree with that," I smiled. "But, to me, you're the most relatable to me—personalitywise. When I'm with you, I'm always happy and there are always things for me to do."

"Ehehehe..." She glomped me with a hug. "You're sooo nice..."

"….Hey..." I let out a heavy sigh and looked into her eyes. "Plutia, how do you feel about me?"

"Huuuh?" Plutia looked up at me, still smiling innocently. "I think you're reaaally nice...and you're reaaally fun to be around..."

"Oh," I did my best to hide my expression. "Well, thanks."

"B-But," I watched as her cheeks flushed. "W-Whenever I think about you...It makes me feel really weird..."

I shook my head and stared into her eyes once again. I grabbed her by her shoulders, snapping her from her trance. I let out a deep breath. "Plutia, I love you."

For a moment, she just stared at me blankly, surprised by my sudden claim. But, slowly, her face reddened. "H-Huh...?"

I repeated the words. "I-I...love you..."

"…" Her beet red face looked back at me, watching me blankly. But, then she let out a giggle, tears beginning to flow from her eyelids. "Ehehe...!"

I watched as she kept laughing. "W-What's so funny?"

"…!"

Before I knew what was happening, I found her lips pressed against mine. I felt the sensation of her soft, sweet lips that spread a warm sensation through my body.

As my mind finally comprehended what had just happened, Plutia pulled away; she was shifting around and her face was completely red. "Mmgh... That's sooo embarassing..."

While she squirmed around in her position, I smiled and took her hand, giving it a slight squeeze; I leaned close to her and pressed my lips against her's, feeling the same sensations touching my lips again.

After a moment, she seemed to understand what was going on and returned by pressing back.

Eventually, we pulled away, out of breath and faces flushed.

"Angel, I l-love you too..." Plutia muttered quietly.

Even though her words could barely be heard, hearing those words made my chest swell with happiness. I threw my arms around her. "I do, too..."

"Ehehehe..." She let out a giggle and I felt her cheek rubbing against my chest.

For the rest of the time we were by the river, we stayed in an embrace.


	25. Chapter 24

**The OC poll has ended a bit sooner than I said. That being said, there is now another poll on my page as to future story ideas after the OC stories have all been written. Feedback on that would be greatly appreciated and will remain up until the OC stories have all been written or uploaded. Still not to sure...  
Anyways, if you care about what I write afterwards, I'd appreciate it if you went and voted.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 24]**

 **[Sigi]**

I opened the door to the suite, only to be met by a horrifying sight. I let out a groan. "Damnit, Neptune..."

Multiple empty pudding cups were scattered throughout the room, marking the floor and various furniture. Neptune slept on the bed, a plastic spoon dangling loosely from her fingers and pudding smeared her mouth. Of course, the room had a lingering smell of—you guessed it—pudding.

I let out a sigh and navigated my way over to Neptune, trying my best to not step on any of empty plastic cups.

As I made it over to her, I poked at her cheek. "Hey, Neptune. Wake up and help me clean."

"Mmgh..." However, Neptune just continued to cuddle with the pillow and rolled away from me. "Five more minutes..."

I watched as she continued to roll around in the bed. "Geez..."

It was the last day of our break and we were required to get back to the school by the dawn of the first school day back.

Yet, here was Neptune, sleeping away on the bed.

"Well, maybe this will get you up..." Climbing onto the bed, I leaned in close to Neptune and pressed my lips against her's.

"…!"

*Thump!*

Neptune's eyes had suddenly shot open and, before I knew it, I had tumbled to the floor with a burning pain on my right cheek.

"Owww..." As I rubbed at the place where Neptune had slapped me, I noticed her looking down at me with a pouting face and glaring eyes. "H-Hey, why'd you slap me so hard? I was just trying to wake you up..."

"I-I don't care!" Neptune blurted out, throwing the pillow at my face. "You don't have to kiss me to wake me up!"

I caught the pillow and tossed it aside. "Well, you didn't seem like you were going to wake up if I tried anything else! Plus, what's wrong with it?! We're dating now!"

"I don't want to hear any more of your excuses!" Neptune continued. "Just don't do that again! I'm not ready for that kind of stuff! You're tainting an innocent girl!"

I let out a guffaw. "You!? You're anything but innocent!"

*THUMP!*

Neptune had thrown another pillow at me. This time, it had caused me to quickly fall to the floor. "I said to stop making excuses! Now, let's hurry and clean up this room, you lazybone!"

"Yeah, I'M the lazy one..." Rolling my eyes, I caught my breath and tossed the pillows back to the bed.

While Neptune was busy cleaning the room filled with her pudding cups, I worked to make the bed.

"Oh, Sigi," Neptune suddenly stopped what she had been doing and looked over at me, wearing a smile. "Are you ready for the Angel's Ball? It's gonna be soon."

I shrugged and stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know... I guess."

"Aw, don't be such a bore chore about it," Neptune said, resuming her cleaning. "I wanna have a fun time there!"

I also resumed my chore. "I mean, I guess I'm ready. I have an attire I could use and I guess I have some things planned for what we could do after the dance."

"Can little 'ol Nep ask what those things are?" She asked curiously.

I shook my head. "Nope. I'd rather leave it as a surprise. Plus, I don't think you'll hate it. At least, I hope..."

"Now you're just making this even harder to stand!" Neptune pouted. "You're really not going to tell me?!"

I shook my head once again. "Nope, sorry."

Neptune let out a sigh and crossed her arms. "Fine, I'll figure it out on my own! For now, let's make this room look like one of those TV commercials!"

I shrugged. "I don't know what that means, but, if it can get you to clean faster, I'll just let that sit in that head of yours."

And so, for the rest of that morning, we spent our time cleaning the bedroom and packing our belongings.

* * *

"Alright. Sigi, keep Luna safe, you got that?" Jewel stared into my eyes, piercing into them.

I gave a nod as Luna and I exchanged high fives. "I got it, don't worry about that."

"Oh, I nearly forgot about this," Jewel quickly ran back into the suite, coming back with a small package. "This is what your parents sent you two."

Luna took the package and, putting it close to her ear, gave it a light shake. Though, nothing could be heard from within. She looked at Jewel. "What's in it?"

Jewel shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. They left it for you two to open."

"Here," Luna handed me the package. "Maybe you can guess what's in it..."

I did just as Luna had and shook the package close to my ear. Though it was very faint, something had shaken. "If I had to guess, it's something big or clothes."

"You two are overthinking this," Noire said. "Just open the package instead of taking guesses."

I shrugged. "Alright."

I peeled the tape that sealed the package and opened it.

Inside was a sealed envelope and a small toy inside.

I took them both out and turned to Luna, waving the toy. "Do you have any idea what this thing is?"

Luna stared at it blankly. "U-Um... I'd be lying if I'd said yes."

I switched over to Neptune and everyone else. "Do you guys have any idea?"

Neptune grinned. "It looks like it could be a meme!"

Noire wore the same expression Luna wore. "I-It's kinda unsettling..."

"I think it looks really cute and totally adorbs~!" Uzume added.

I shrugged and looked back to Jewel, who had been watching us with amusement. "Do you know what this thing is?"

Jewel gave a nod. "I do. It's a robot your mom had made way back when she was still dating your father. At least, that's she had told me."

"Really?" Luna and I stared into the tiny robot's weird eyes. "B-But...it looks so weird..."

Jewel shrugged. "I'm not your mom. I just knew that she had an addiction to machines."

I stared into the sharp white pupils of the robot.

While the rest of its body was dressed in pretty normal clothes, the head was the weird part. It was blocky, wearing a surprised expression and had wide, hollow white eyes. For some reason, it was the face that made it unsettling.

"Wait..." I then turned the robot to look at the bottom of it. On the bottom of a boot were the printed words Nepgeardam. "W-What's a Nepgeardam...?"

Luna shrugged. "I'm not sure... L-Let's just move on and read the letter."

I stuffed the Nepgeardam into my bag and unsealed the envelope, revealing the letter. Examining the letter, it had been written in ink, something you rarely saw in Rouge.

I cleared my throat and read it aloud:

 _ **Sigi and Luna,**_

 _ **I hope you two enjoyed your holiday. Sadly, we couldn't come see you two as the situation over here is too overwhelming for any types of vacations. The best we could do was send you this letter and one of your mom's robots(Yes, it's weird. But, your mom wanted to send it to you). Don't worry, I sent you something. After you read finish reading this letter, look inside the envelope again. Anyways, I hope you two are doing well in school and are growing stronger, living happy lives. Once we get this problem solved over here, we'll finally come see you and, if you want, take you home with us. Just know that we are always thinking about you and want to see you as soon as possible. Though, things don't seem to be going well so we can't guarantee how soon we'll see you. But, we have to go. Remember that we love and care about you two. We'll always be in your hearts.**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Dad**_

I found my hands shaking as I finished reading the letter. Quickly, I folded the letter back up and handed it to Luna. Regaining my composure, I reached back into the envelope and took out a small disc.

"Why is there a disc in here?" Luna asked. "We don't have anything that can play it."

"Maybe it's one of those discs that has a monster in it!" Neptune suggested.

We looked back at her. "Why the hell would a monster come out of a disc?!"

"Because that's what happens in video games!" Neptune claimed.

I let out a sigh and tapped on the disc. As soon as I did, the disc began emitting light and created a blinding white glow.

When the glow had faded away, what had once been a disc had turned to a glass cage filled with several blue slime creatures with dog faces, happily hopping around in a simulated environment.

"Woah!" Luna pressed her nose against the cage. "What are those!?"

"Those are Dogoos," Jewel answered.

"Man, they look like someone who slapped a dog's face onto a slime!" Neptune commented.

"Well, they're pretty cute," Shiri said. "I don't mind how they look."

Uzume pouted. "Uzume is jealous! Uzume wants one!"

"Sorry, they're not yours," I turned back to Jewel. "Jewel, can you watch these while we're off at school. We don't exactly know how to care for them anyways."

She gave a smile and nodded. "Sure. Make sure you win the tournament though."

I returned with my own grin. "I'll try my best!"

As Luna, Neptune and I exchanged hugs with Jewel, we made sure we had everything before leaving for the school.

The second term was about to begin. And, with that, so was the Hades Tournament.

And the Angel's Ball.


	26. Chapter 25

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 25]**

A few months had passed since the new term had begun. Since then, Shiri, Neptune and I had been busy training to get ready for the Hades Tournament. Though, as the months passed, Neptune became more obsessed with the Angel's Ball.

While this whole situation was going on, I had figured out that Angel and Plutia had also started dating. The difference between his relationship and mine was that he was more relaxed, due to Plutia's lazy nature. But, in its own way, that was also a flaw in their relationship.

Everyone else was also busy training, Brindle having to sometimes drag Angel to the BSA.

During a Saturday, I had met up with Luna and Brindle. Since Shiri was off helping Neptune out with her aim, those two weren't coming.

So, I was with my little sister and Brindle, since Angel was off with Plutia.

We were hanging out in the BSA room, watching a simulated fight between an army of Sorcerers and Gunners. Surprisingly, the match was pretty even. Though, it seemed to be leaning towards the Gunners' side.

The three of us sat there, watching the simulation and eating away at our various snacks and drinks.

I took a sip from my bubble tea, turning to Brindle. "Which side are you betting on?"

Brindle shrugged. "I'm gonna have to say the Sorcerers."

"Why?" I asked. "They're losing right now."

Luna gave a nod. "I agree with Brindle. I think they'll win."

I whirled my head to Luna. "Your opinion doesn't matter! You're a Sorcerer!"

Luna stuck out her tongue and pinched at my cheek. "Doesn't matter! I'm your sister!"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Can you guys just tell me why you think the Sorcerers are going to win?"

"Well, they're the underdogs," Brindle pointed out. "Plus, they have more options for fighting than Gunners. Gunners only have, well, guns. Maybe an occasional knife or throwable, but they just mainly have guns."

I shrugged. "But, even though they only have guns, they seem to be winning right now."

"Yeah, but they're all just AI," Luna said. "If all of them were real people, the results would be much more diverse."

I shrugged. "I guess. But—"

*BOOM!*

The simulation was suddenly put to an end when an explosion of ice blew up at the center of the arena. The simulated people suddenly disappeared and a breath of cold air swept through.

"What the heck?!" We rose from our seats and stared down at the arena. As the air faded away, it revealed the person who was staring in the center of the arena: Yami.

His dead blue eyes pierced into mine. "Sigi Aurum, get down here and fight me."

"…" Part of me wanted to just walk away, but another part wanted to go down there and actually fight him. It was something that I had been waiting for.

In the end, my idiocy got the better of me.

"H-Hey! Sigi!" As I hopped down to the arena, Luna and Brindle called after me.

I landed on the arena floor. Letting my blade's energy flow, I faced Yami. Slowly, a grin crossed my face.

"So, is this how you introduce yourself?" I asked him. "Usually, people get to know each other by talking. I guess you really want to fight... Can you at least tell me why?"

Yami answered with his usual cool voice. "I'm going to beat you here. That's all."

I let out a sigh. "Not much of a talker, huh?"

*KRSH!*

I suddenly jerked my body to the left, barely avoiding a sudden barrage of ice spikes. As they shattered, I burst forward and slashed at him.

Just before my blade made contact with his skin, a stream of ice spikes shot up.

I cranked up my Limiter by one level, managing to kick away from the spikes and land on the floor. However, they continued to follow me.

My attention turned to Yami, who was focused on aiming the stream. I threw my blade at him.

*CRASH!*

As his attention shifted to dodge the sword, I increased my Limiter by another level and burst forward, my fist managing to connect to his jaw.

The force sent him flying back. However, he managed to regain his footing and slid himself to a halt.

I took that as a moment to strike. Lunging forward, I grabbed my sword and slashed at him.

*Sk!*

The laser blade grazed his pale skin as he did his best to step out of the way, forming a red trickle on his skin.

*CRASH!*

Suddenly an explosion blew me away, bouncing me off a wall and slamming to the floor. Picking myself up, I looked at Yami. The air around grew thinner as a frost began pulsing from him and his eyes became a glowing bright blue.

My body began to shiver violently as the temperature rapidly dropped and the air grew thinner and thinner, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Yami's eyes flickered. "This is where you die!"

"G-Gh!" Just as I thought it couldn't get any colder, I was proved wrong as the temperature plummeted even further. At this point, I could barely move and each breath felt as if I was sucking in a sharp needle.

I crumpled to my knees, trying my best to maintain breathing. I watched as Yami slowly made his way towards me, leaving a trail of ice where he walked.

*HSHH!*

Yami formed a single ice spike. "It's over. This is where you die, Sigi Aurum..."

I gritted my teeth. But, no matter how much I tried to get to my feet, I couldn't muster the energy.

"SIGI!"

I heard my sister's cry from the outskirts of the arena. Turning to her, I shook my head. No matter what, I was going to win this.

That, or I died.

*Shk!*

"G-Gh!" Just as I jerked my head back to Yami, I suddenly felt his ice spike impale me, cutting away my breath and immediately causing my body to collapse to the floor.

My body quickly became ice cold and my sensations numbed. I couldn't feel my body and I felt my energy hurriedly leaving me.

"…" My vision blurred before everything around faded to white.

* * *

Somehow, I managed to open my eyes. Once again, I found myself in my thoughts, cheating death once again.

The same golden area surrounded me and I was facing the golden silhouette once again.

"I-It's you...again..."

I could feel the figure's warm aura. **"It's good to see you again, Sigi. What did you get yourself into this time?"**

I let out a sigh. "I couldn't beat Yami. Before I was killed, I was taken here."

 **"I see..."** The figure gave a nod. **"Then, how about I help you out?"**

I gave a nod. "That would really help. But, why do you always show up before I die? Why do you always come to save me?"

 **"I'm a gift to you,"** it answered. **"I'm here to save and protect you. After all, if you die, I'll fade away. I'll make sure you survive by using my power."**

"…" I could only stare at the figure. "B-But...what if I were to die, even if I were using your power?"

 **"…"** The figure remained silent. **"Then, we'll both die..."**

"…" I swallowed hard but balled my hands into fists. "Then, I'll make sure to win our fights! I swear on it!"

The figure let out a laugh as I felt it's power begin to surge into my body. **"You really are like your father..."**

As I smiled, I felt my consciousness slowly return.

* * *

"GRAH!" The power surged through my body as the area around exploded with lightning and dispelled the frost around me. My injuries that had once been there had healed instantly.

The static feeling of the blue lightning coursing through my body surged through it as I glared at Yami—who wore a surprised expression.

I tightly gripped my blade and felt more power course through my body as I cranked up the Limiter to the fourth level. "I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE!"

"…" Yami continued to watch me with his cold eyes. "This... Is this your ability?"

I braced my body. "You're about to find out!"

*BOOM!*

An audible sound was created as I exploded towards Yami. Before he could react, I aimed a punch at his face. Connecting to his cheek, he was blown back and crashed into the wall.

While he jerked himself out of the wall, I lunged towards him.

*CRASH!*

However, Yami managed to barely evade my punch as he freed himself from the wall.

*KSH!*

As he barraged me with ice spears, I managed to manipulate the lightning to act as a shield, destroying the ice.

*Crack!*

Just as my lightning disappeared, Yami's fist found my jaw, slamming me to the floor.

Before shards of ice impaled into my head, I rolled out of the way and threw my blade at him, creating a gash on his left arm as he moved to try to dodge it. I then rose back to my feet.

While he clutched his arm, I ran forward and threw a punch at him once again.

*BOOM!*

Ice exploded, creating a protective barrier around Yami and I was blown back once again.

The two of us stared each other down, our auras dancing around each other.

"…" The two of us burst forward, our fists ready to connect with the other's face.

*Sk! Sk!*

"A-Agh!"

Just before either of our fists connected, we were both struck with a numbing pain and crumpled to the arena floor, our auras disappearing.

The power left our bodies and we were both left weak on the floor.

"G-Gh! D-Damn it!" Yami cursed as we both tried to move. Even with the Limiter, I couldn't get back to my feet.

"Don't even bother, neither of you is going to be able to get up for a good hour."

We both turned to the source of the voice. Approaching us, were Jumon and Andy, followed closely behind by Luna and Brindle.

"It's a good thing we got here when we did," Jumon said, glaring at us. "If we would have come any later, you two probably would've ended up destroying this arena. And we can't have that."

"H-How did you even find out!?" Yami was glaring at Jumon.

She smiled. "It wasn't exactly the toughest thing to do. The power you two were generating could be felt even from across the school."

"Yami, Sigi; I get that you two are eager to fight and all, but save that for when the tournament actually comes around," Andy advised. "If either of you tries anything dumb like this again, you two will be kicked from the tournament. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah..." While I responded with my words, Yami silently nodded.

"Good," Jumon smiled. "Now, I'm going to let you two go. You better have learned something."

Jumon and Andy pulled the devices from our bodies, letting energy flow back into us.

I stretched my body and turned to see Jumon and Andy already almost out of the room. Yami had followed suit and left quietly, without uttering a single word to us.

"…" I watched as he left.

Whatever his reason for fighting me had been, it clearly wasn't accomplished. Though, if I had to guess the reason, it was probably to kill me.

"Sigi, are you alright?" Luna asked.

I turned to her and gave a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go and head somewhere else."

"Good idea," Brindle commented. "I think there's been enough fighting for one day."

As I gave a nod, the three of us left the BSA room.


	27. Chapter 26

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 26]**

After that cut-off battle with Yami, I had spent the rest of the day in the library with Brindle and Luna, quietly discussing Yami's reason for fighting.

But, we quickly dismissed the subject. That was because the Angel's Ball was coming up soon. Due to that, Neptune talked about it more and more the closer the dance came. Not only that, but Luna was also bugging me about it.

Luna and I were sitting in a local café, eating our food and sipping away at our drinks.

As Luna finished chewing on her piece of her sandwich, she looked into my eyes. "Sigi, we need to have a talk."

I set my drink down and rested my chin on my hand. "Luna, I already confessed to Neptune. I thought you already knew that. We've gone on a few dates and are on good terms, so there's no reason to—"

"I'm not talking about that," Luna snapped at me. "I was talking about the Angel's Ball."

"O-Oh," I scratched the back of my head. "S-Sorry."

Luna shook her head. "Sigi, I just wanted to help you pick out your outfit for the Angel's Ball. You don't want to show up wearing something dirty or whatever."

I rolled my eyes. "I already have a s—"

"Don't even," Luna silenced me by putting a finger to my lip. "That so-called 'suit' of yours is just a blazer, a white shirt and a pair of black jeans. In nobody's book is that a suit!"

I shrugged. "Why does it matter?"

Luna could only stare at me in disappointment. "Sigi, nobody ever goes to a proper dance wearing that. You're going to need an actual suit."

I shrugged. "But Neptune probably won't mind."

Luna's disappointed expression remained the same. "Sigi, you of all people should know her. Even if she is really laid back, these are some of the few things she'd take seriously."

I bit my lip. "Damn... You've got a good point there..."

"Yeah, you see?" Luna shook her head. "Sigi, after we finish eating, we're going to go buy you a PROPER suit."

I let out a sigh and took a sip from my tea. "Fine... Whatever..."

Luna's expression then brightened up and she wore a smile. "That's the spirit!"

* * *

"…" It was the day before the Angel's Ball. Luna and I had gone and bought my suit. I stared at it.

It wasn't exactly anything special. Simply, it was just the standard black dress suit with a matching tie and shoes, along with a white dress shirt underneath it.

I put the suit back into its box and into the drawer. Sitting on my bed, I tapped on my watch and navigated through the display to find Angel's contact.

I then messaged him, telling him to meet up with me.

Soon after I had contacted Angel, the two of us had met up at the courtyard.

The two of us relaxed on the lush green grass. I stared up at the bright blue sky while Angel ran his hand through the grass.

He watched as I lay there and let the sun bath me. "Sigi, why'd you call me out here?"

"Oh, yeah," the beauty of the day had almost made me forget why I had brought him out here with me. "I wanted to ask you something."

His expression didn't change. "Yeah? What's up?"

I cut straight to the point. "Are you going to the Angel's Ball with Plutia?"

He let out a sigh but shook his head. "No, we're not."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why not?"

Angel shrugged. "It's just not her thing. She said that it'd be more fun to play alone. I don't know what she meant by that, but I don't mind."

"But wouldn't you want to go to a dance?" I asked.

"It's not that I don't want to go," he admitted. "But, usually, whatever Plutia likes doing, I like, too."

"Well, that's kind of a bummer," I frowned and let out a deep breath.

"Why? Are you going to the Angel's Ball?" He asked.

I gave a nod. "Yeah, I'm going with Neptune."

Angel gave a nod. "Ah, I see..."

"Still, I'm surprised you aren't going," I said. "After all, your name is in it."

He let out a laugh. "That's simply a coincidence. Just know that I'm not going."

I sat upright. "Alright. Still, it's still kind of a shame."

"Hey, you just have fun," he flashed a small smile.

I rose back to my feet, pulling Angel back up with me. "Yeah, I'll try."

* * *

…" I stared out the window. It was the night of the Angel's Ball. I watched as the students and many couples made their way to the Hades Building, the paper lanterns lining the school and creating a beautiful glow throughout the dark night.

I had changed into my suit and styled my hair a bit. I was in the Sorcerers' common room, sitting with Shiri and Luna. The night before, I had asked Neptune to meet up with me at the Sorcerers' common room.

Shiri smiled at me. "Sigi, are you mentally prepared?"

I put a finger to my chin. "I don't know... I guess I'm nervous cause I've never danced before. I've just never been to a dance before."

Luna let out a laugh. "It'll be fun! Don't worry, it'll all come to you."

I shook my head. "I'm pretty sure you have to learn how to dance. It doesn't just come to you."

"Actually, it does come to some people naturally," Shiri pointed out. "Maybe you could be one of those people."

"I doubt it," I said.

"Don't worry. You two will probably only do the slow dance," Luna claimed. "And, since it's slow, you'll have plenty of time to learn."

I took a deep breath. "I hope so..."

"U-Um, Sigi... A-Are you ready?"

"Hm?" I turned to the source of the voice. As I did, I became speechless. "…"

Neptune had shown up and was also dressed properly. As Luna had said, she took her appearance seriously. It was something I wasn't used to.

She wore a violet ball gown that stretched down to her black slippers and a lilac flower attached to the left side of her twin-braided hair.

Her face was beet red and she did her best to stare at me. "S-Sigi, a-are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." I gulped and regained my composure. "Y-You look...really beautiful, Neptune."

Her flushed face grew even redder and she stared down at the carpet, shifting around. "T-Thanks..."

Shiri smiled at her. "You really do look pretty, Neptune. It's a nice change from your usual appearance."

Neptune rose her head and did her best to smile at Shiri. "It took me a while to pick this all out."

"Well, you do look gorgeous," Luna added. "I hope you and Sigi have fun!"

Neptune continued to smile. "Yeah, thanks!"

I rose from my chair and walked up to Neptune. Her attention turned to me. "Neptune, are you ready?"

She gave a shy nod. "Yeah..."

I intertwined my hand with her's and we walked together to the Hades Building.

While we made our way to the Hades Building, we walked together quietly.

Neptune stared at my face. "Sigi, something about you seems different..."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'm wearing a suit."

She giggled. "No, I don't mean what you're wearing. I mean about your hair."

"Oh yeah," I shrugged. "I styled it for today."

"I'm not used to it," Neptune said. "I think it looks good on you."

"Thanks," I smiled before turning my attention over to her. "But something about you seems different, too. Besides your hair and dress. Like, it's something with your face, but I can't think of it..."

"O-Oh," Neptune's cheeks flushed once again. "I decided to put on some makeup. I had Noire help me out with it."

"It looks good on you," I complimented her. "I'm really not used to you looking like this."

"Thanks," Neptune smiled at me. "But are you ready to dance?"

I shrugged as we approached the Hades Building, meeting up with the rest of the crowd. "I'm a bit nervous about that. I'm not exactly a dancer and I've never done it."

Neptune let out a laugh. "That's okay, neither have I. If it comes down to it, we can just copy what those people do on those dance shows."

I formed a grin. "I guess so."

We merged with the crowd and followed them into the Hades Building, where the Angel's Ball was held.

The main hall had been turned into a place for food, drinks, and conversations. Chefs were at their stalls, cooking food and pouring drinks for people to enjoy while others conversed.

"Hey, how about we get something to drink?" Neptune suggested. "After all, you can't run on an empty stomach!"

I shook my head. "I'm pretty sure that's not the right saying for this type of situation. Unless, of course, you're hungry."

Neptune smiled mischievously. "Bingo! Ya caught me! But the food here looks so good!"

I sighed. "Just be glad that it's free. We'll get something, but just don't eat too much before we go dance, got it?"

Neptune gave a nod. "Yepperoni!"

And, like that, we went off to go try food.

* * *

*DING!*

As Neptune finished the last of her takoyaki, there came a chime from the speakers, catching all of our attention.

*WE WILL NOW BE STARTING THE SLOW DANCE! IF ANY OF YOU WISH TO ATTEND, PLEASE PROCEED TO THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE HADES BUILDING! THANK YOU!*

Immediately, many couples began making their way to the second floor, throwing away their food.

I turned to Neptune, who had just finished her takoyaki and thrown away her trash. "Are you ready?"

Her face flushed but she nodded. "Y-Yeah. I'm ready."

"Then, let's go," taking her hand, I led her to the elevator and we rode to the second floor, the BSA room.

Like the main hall, the BSA room had also been transformed into something suitable for the Angel's Ball.

The ceiling was decorated with white, glowing orbs, illuminating the simulated room. The room simulated a ball room with marble floors, a high ceiling, and multiple crystal chandeliers to accompany the glowing orbs. Off in a corner, there was an orchestra on a raised platform.

The orchestra was playing _The Second Waltz_ by Dmitri Shostakovich, a song that I had heard too many times. Though, it did make for good dance music.

I felt Neptune squeeze my hand and looked over at her. She had a smile plastered on her face. "Are you ready?"

"…" I stared at the other people that were already dancing with their partners. Honestly, it didn't seem so bad. They were simply just moving to the music and holding each other.

I gave a shrug. "Sure."

We interlocked our hands and came close to each other. Neptune smiled. "So, how are we going to do this?"

I shrugged. "How about we figure it out as we go?"

Neptune gave a nod as she looked towards one of the other couples dancing, studying their movements. "Alright. It doesn't seem too hard."

The two of us began mimicking the movements we had seen the other couples do. Though, it was harder than it looked. But, after some time, we started getting the feel for it. After that, it was pretty simple.

The orchestra was now playing some tune that I didn't recognize. I did know that it was much slower than the last song.

Neptune held her body close to my chest as we swayed along with the music. She let out a soft giggle and leaned close to my ear. "Sigi, I love you..."

I smiled as she pecked at my cheek. "Now where did that suddenly come from?"

"Well, it came to me as we danced," Neptune said. "Plus, this is one of those stereotypical dance scenes where the couple is dancing and all happy."

"It's true that I am pretty happy," I admitted. "Because I'm dancing with the person I love."

"Aww..." Neptune's cheeks flushed, but her composure remained. "That's so nice."

I smiled. "I mean it though."

She giggled once again. "I know... Anyways, are you ready for the Hades Tournament? It starts next week."

I gave a nod. "I am, but—for now—let's not think about that. Tonight, I just want to spend it with you, without distractions."

Her smile grew. "Yeah, so do I. Do you want to spend the night together? Y'know, like we did during the holiday break?"

I returned with my own smile. "Yeah, I'd be happy to."

And so, as Neptune and I kissed, the two of us danced late into the night.


	28. 26-5

**[26.5]**

After the Angel's Ball had ended, Neptune and I had decided to go stay at one of those overnight places in the Community District.

Basically, if you didn't feel like going back to your district and you had a lover in a different district, you would come to one of the overnight places to, stay the night.

And, since it was right after the Angel's Ball, the places were especially packed with couples such as Neptune and I.

The two of us had gotten our key card and headed into the room. It was quite spacious, having a bathroom, kitchen, living room and bedroom.

Looking in the closet, I was happy to find a change of clothes for us. I let out a sigh. "Thank goodness I don't have to sleep in a suit..."

Neptune flopped onto the bed, staring up at me. "What's wrong with it? You could sleep in that."

I shrugged. "That's true, but it wouldn't exactly be the most comfortable thing in the world."

Neptune smiled. "I guess not... But why don't you just sleep in your underwear?"

"I could," I admitted. "But I've always preferred sleeping in a pair of comfortable clothes in the night, rather than naked."

Neptune shook her head. "Sigi, you're honestly a weird person..."-

"I know..." I returned her smile, grabbing a change of clothes. "Anyways, I'm going to go take a shower. You can take the bathroom after me."

Neptune gave a nod. "Alright! Make sure to have a steamy time in the shower!"

I just sighed. "Please, learn to word your lines better..."

"Ehehehe..." As she grinned innocently, I went off to shower.

* * *

After I had showered and changed into some breathable clothes, I had let Neptune take her shower. I sat on the bed, quietly folding my clothes while the sound of the running shower echoed off in the distance.

As I finished, I set the clothes on the nightstand and flopped onto the large white mattress. I let out a heavy sigh. "It feels good getting out of that suit."

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the soft pillow. That was when I noticed that the water had stopped running. That meant that Neptune had probably just finished her shower. Though, I didn't hear any ruckus coming from the bathroom.

"Yah!"

Just before I could get up to check on Neptune, I felt her arms suddenly wrap around me from behind and a soft sensation pressed against my back.

I turned my head back to see Neptune's smile and blushing face. Her hair was down and wet. The wet beads of water glossed her body, only covered by a towel.

For a moment, I just stared at her. "Neptune, what are you doing?"

She pouted. "Hey! It was supposed to be a nice surprise! That's a terrible reaction!"

I sighed before smiling at her. "Yeah, sorry about that..."

I then turned around and locked my lips with her's. "A-Ah...Mmm... *smack* …."

Usually, when I kissed her, it would just create a pleasurable sensation. Though this time, every time we locked lips, it sparked a flame inside me and made me lust for her more.

As I continued to attack at her lips, the two of us fell onto the bed together.

"Haaah..." After we had run out of breath, the two of us separated. Neptune's face was now burning red as I stared down at her.

I caressed her cheek and smiled. "Neptune, you look really cute right now..."

She let out a giggle. "Is it because of the position we're in right now?"

I shook my head. "No, I honestly mean that. When I'm with you, it makes me really happy."

Neptune smiled. "Me too..."

"H-Hey, Neptune," I swallowed hard. "I don't know if I should tell you this right now, but would it be okay to tell you?"

Neptune's face turned to a curious one. "What's up? You can tell me anything. I won't laugh, I promise!"

I felt the blood rush to my head the more I thought about it. Considering the position the two of us were also in, it made it even harder to try to get the words out.

I took a deep breath and stared right into her eyes. Like the other times we were together, they were soft. "Neptune..."

She still wore her smile. "What's up?"

My voice took a serious tone. "I want you... I want to see you."

"Wha...?" Her expression suddenly became blank.

"That's what I wanted to see, honestly," I told.

"…." She just continued to stare at me, expressionless.

It was how I truly felt and I had said it. But it was her reply that worried me.

I repeated it. "I want to be even closer to you, Neptune. I want to feel you."

"…." I watched as Neptune's blank expression slowly turned to a pout. "You're such a strange person..."

I shook my head. "I would really like an answer. After all, I'm being honest."

"Sigi..." Neptune's face flushed as it seemed to blank again.

"…" I watched and waited. There was really nothing more I could say.

Even though we had only been dating for a few months, I knew from the bottom of my heart that I truly loved her.

Then, she finally answered. "I-I want to be closer to you, too..."

"Neptune..."

"A-Ah... M-Mmn... *smack* …."

I felt my feelings of lust slowly overpower my feelings of innocent love. I wanted her.

"Nn... Haah..."

As a moan escaped her mouth, I slipped my tongue into her mouth.

"M-Mmm...!"

A shiver ran through her body as my tongue began exploring the insides of her mouth while her tongue seemed to back away.

"*smack* …. *smack* …."

As our kisses became more passionate, I felt goosebumps begin to rise on my body.

"Mmm... *smmmmack* …. *smack* …"

An overwhelming feeling of pleasure and joy ran through me as I felt her suck on my tongue.

My eyes, which had been shut, opened to stare at Neptune.

Her face was red and her eyelashes seemed to tremble. As I felt her mouth beg for more, I returned my focus to her lips.

"Haah... aah, *smack*, mmn... *smack* …"

As we got more into it, I felt Neptune's warmth and her sweet fragrance grow stronger.

I then gave her lips a few light pecks, begging for them.

In response, Neptune brought her tongue forward.

"Mmm, *smmmmack* …"

"Hahhh... mmm, *slurp*, *smack* …"

As our lips touched, a jolt went through our bodies as our tongues began to dance around each other.

"Haaah, *slurp* *schlp* *slurp* *smack* *slurrrurp*"

I felt Neptune's tongue began to dance and coil with mine more aggressively, filling my mind with feelings of joy and pleasure.

Her tongue felt a bit slimy but elastic in a way that was indescribable. It was the same with her saliva, also hard to describe but pleasurable.

"Mmm, *smack*, *slurp*, mm, *smack*, *schlp* *smack* *slurp*...Mmn..."

Lewd sounds echoed through the room, making us lust for each other lust for more.

We had become so lost in the kisses that we had forgotten to stop.

"Ahh...Hahhh..."

As I felt my tongue start to go numb, we finally broke away, leaving a strand of saliva in between us.

As Neptune regained her breath, she smiled, her eyes seeming distant. "That was...amazing..."

Seeing her like that made my lust for her rise up even more.

"A-Ah, Sigi..." the light returned to Neptune's eyes as her blush grew. "Y-You're touching my chest..."

"O-Oh..." Looking down, I realized that my hands had unconsciously made their way to her breasts. "S-Sorry, I didn't know..."

Neptune let out a giggle. "How did I fall in love with such a strange person like you?"

"H-Hey, Neptune," I stared into her eyes. "I want to see you... All of you..."

"O-Oh..." I watched as her ears reddened. "It's embarrassing to think about, but, since it's you, I guess it's okay..."

I smiled. "Thanks..."

"A-Ah...Mmn..."

As I pressed my lips against her and our tongues played with each other, I focused on slowly undressing her.

"Mmm... *slurp* *smack*….Mmm *smack*…"

We pressed into the bed as I managed to remove the majority of her clothes, only leaving a pair of striped, wet undergarments barely covering her special place.

"…"

"S-Sigi?" Neptune watched me. "W-What's wrong?"

"You're so cute!"

"N-Nyaaan...! Mmmn... *smack* *schurlp*….A-Ahhn!"

My lust had gotten the better of me and I had suddenly found myself passionately kissing Neptune once again while my hands played with her soft breasts.

"Mmn... S-Sigi..." She did her best to speak between kisses. "Mmn... *smack* *schlurp* ...I-It feels too... *smack* ….too good... Mmn...!"

"A-Ah... sorry..." My lust was beginning to take over. "You're just so cute... and... it feels so good..."

"A-Ahn...! Nnn...! S-Sigi—Ahn!" Neptune's lewd moans echoed throughout the room as I continued to explore her body, her nipples slowly becoming hard. "S-Sigi... I-It feels too good...!"

Finally, I pulled away from her. Her red face looked completely dazed as she tried to regain her breath. "S-Sigi..."

"N-Neptune..." I held her hands, giving them a small squeeze. "I want to become one with you..."

"Y-Yeah..." Neptune nodded through her dazed expression. "M-Me too..."

I pecked at her lips before gently setting her onto the bed. Slowly, I unzipped my pants, allowing my erect shaft to come out.

Neptune squirmed around as she spread her legs. "T-This is so embarrassing..."

I looked Neptune in the eyes once again. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Neptune nodded. "Y-Yeah, I'm sure. I want to become one with you as soon as possible..."

I swallowed hard. "Then, is it alright if I touch it?"

Though she continued shifting around embarrassingly, Neptune nodded. "Yeah..."

I took a deep breath, gently bringing my fingertips closer. "Alright..."

"H-Hahhh...!"

Instantly, her panties let out a wet noise as I pressed a finger against them, tracing out the shape. She was already really wet.

Due to the cloth clinging to her and how wet it was, I could make out the shape of what lay underneath.

It was Neptune's pussy, the place I'd be inside soon.

Her privates continued to twitch with the movements of my finger, stroking the slit up and down.

Neptune's love juices continued to flow out until the thin strip of cloth had become completely soaked through.

"H-Hey..." Neptune looked up at me.

I gave an understanding nod and stopped, pulling my finger away. I was more than ready for it. "Okay, I'm going to take them off now, alright?"

"Y-Yeah..." Neptune gave a shy nod.

Slowly, her panties came off, the sight slowly becoming clearer and clearer.

I stared at Neptune's pussy, exposed to my eyes.

"S-Sigi... please..." Neptune squirmed a bit. "Please don't look too much..."

"R-Right, sorry..." I shook the thought away and turned back up to her. All that mattered anyways was becoming one with her.

With a fully erect cock pointed up towards the ceiling, I got right into position between her legs.

As I pressed the tip against her, the wet and warm sensation it created caused me to reflexively pull back for a second.

I let out another deep breath and stared into Neptune's eyes. "Neptune, I'm going to put it in now. Tell me if it hurts."

Neptune could only nod timidly. "Y-Yeah... O-Okay..."

Bracing myself, I pushed into her walls of flesh, creating a narrowed sensation against my tip.

Adding a bit more pressure, I could feel it slowly widening, creating a wet sound.

"Mmmm!" Neptune's eyes squeezed shut as she squeezed my hands, her nails digging into them.

Her pained response caused me to pause. "N-Neptune, are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine..." She forced out. "J-Just keep going..."

I gave a nod and hardened myself to continue. "Alright."

Slowly, I moved my hips forward slowly again.

"Mmm... Hahhh... ahhh!"

As my cock penetrated deeper into her narrow pussy, Neptune tried her best to hold in her pained cries.

As I clenched my teeth, my cock inched its way in while her nectar clung to it.

Making a bit more progress in, I felt resistance at the tip.

"Hahhh... mmm,… hahhh, mmgh..."

While Neptune's body trembled, tears stained the corners of her eyes.

"..."

It seemed that taking it slowly was making it more painful. If that was the case...

I tensed my abs a bit.

"A-Ahhhh!?"

With a sensation of flesh tearing aside, I made it all the way to the back in one, hard thrust.

"Hahhh... ahhh... mmmgh... ohhhh..."

Neptune's back arched like a bow. Watching her struggle against the pain tore my heart.

My tip poked at her inner wall and I let out a long breath. "N-Neptune, I'm in..."

"R-Really?" Neptune peeked her eyes open. Despite the pain, Neptune smiled. "Y-Yeah... I can feel you inside of me..."

I smiled. "I'm really happy, Neptune..."

She continued smiling. "Yeah, so am I... We've become one..."

Even though it wasn't intentional, I could feel her flesh pulsing around me.

I remained focused. "Does it hurt?"

"I-It doesn't hurt anymore..." Neptune said. "I think the pain's gone now."

I gave a nod. "Okay... I'm gonna start moving now."

"Yeah... mm, ah, mmm... hahh..."

Slowly, I began moving my hips. Even though they weren't big movements, the wet noises didn't stop. Neptune's face was crimson with embarrassment.

"Those sound... Mmm... They sound so dirty... Hahhh..."

Each time I thrusted, the bed creaked, seeming to be a constant reminder that we were having sex.

"Hahhh, ahh, ahh, mm, ahhh..."

Her cries slowly began begging for more. I picked up the speed of my thrusts.

The pulsing of her pussy continued to create a strong sensation. It was starting to get used to shape of my cock.

My penis cried for happiness while her pussy tightened around it.

"Hahhhnn, ahh, ahh, ahh, ohhh..."

"A-Are you...sure...it doesn't hurt?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah.. I-It's my... mmmm...first time...b-but it...ahhhn!"

The noises from the constant thrusting grew louder. I could tell that we'd become even more joined than before.

Her pussy heated up, making my cock feel as if it were about to melt in it.

"A-Ah! Ahn! S-Sigi! I-It feels so good! A-Ah!"

Combined with the constant pulsing of her pussy, its warmth, and Neptune's lewd cries, I continued to thrust harder and harder.

The creaking of the bed and lewd sounds of the thrusting grew louder and louder as I pounded deep into her.

"I guess...we're compatible," I said.

"Haaah...h-huh?" She looked up at me, dazed.

I struggled to talk while the beads of sweat made our bodies glisten. "There are some cases where partners are naturally compatible. I-I think we may one of those few..."

It honestly felt amazing. But, I knew I couldn't hold back much longer.

"Hahhh, mmm, ahhh, ahhh, ahhhhh! A-Ahhh, I-I think, hahhh, I'm about to...mmm...come..."

I gave a nod. "T-Then, let's do it...together...!"

"A-Ahh! Y-Yeah!" Neptune did her best to talk through her moans.

I clenched my teeth and thrust into the deepest parts of her as hard as I possibly could.

"A-Ahhhn, ahhh, ohhhh, ahhhh!" At my sudden increase of strength, Neptune's cries grew louder. "Ahhhh, coming! I-I'm...coming...hahhhhh!"

"Nngh...!"

Chills of pleasure began to shoot up my spine. "N-Neptune...Ah...it's coming out!...Neptune...!"

"M-Me too...S-Sigi...coming... ohhhhhhhhnng!"

Without thinking, I plunged as deep into Neptune as I could. Just as I made it, a powerful sensation swept through my body. For a moment, everything felt distant.

"A-Ah, mmm... there's so much... inside of me...hahhh..."

The large amount of fluid quickly filled her up and leaked from the point where we were joined. Now that we had both climaxed, her pussy, clung to my cock.

The pleasure grew as I continued to pour out my semen into her deepest parts until I was completely dry out.

"Haaaa... Haaa..." Neptune's eyes opened. "D-Did you come, too?"

I nodded. "Y-Yeah..."

"Hahhh... Sigi... I love you..." Neptune said.

Having finished our lovemaking, I collapsed onto her, welcoming a naked embrace. "Y-Yeah... I-I love you too, Neptune..."

My lips touched her's as we lay in an embrace together.


	29. Chapter 27

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 27]**

Even though we had showered before, Neptune and I had decided to take a shower again and stay the night at the overnight places. After all, that was the reason for their existence.

* * *

"…" I woke up the next morning, the bright sun rays shining down on me.

I peeked my eyes open to see Neptune's body clinging to me, sleeping peacefully. Balnkets draped over her naked, bare body.

"… Oh, yeah..."

Neptune and I were in an embrace, sleeping together in the same bed.

"Mmn..." Neptune stirred for a second before waking up, opening her eyes to see my face staring back at her. She let out a giggle and yawned before smiling warmly. "Morning, Sigi..."

I returned her smile. "Morning, Neptune. Did you get some sleep?"

She gave a nod. "Yeah, I got a lot. How about you?"

I also nodded. "So did I..."

A blush suddenly entered Neptune's cheeks and she averted her gaze. "U-Um, can you please not look while I change? I-It's embarrassing..."

"O-Oh..." I gave a quick nod. "Y-Yeah, sorry..."

I turned the other way and felt the blankets rustle as Neptune rolled out.

I waited for her to finish changing before taking my turn to change.

* * *

The two of us handed the keycard back to the owner and went on our way to the Hades Building, hands intertwined. Even though it was a weekday, today was when the Hades Tournament would begin.

I let out a deep sigh. Neptune glanced over at me. "What's up? Still tired?"

I shook my head. "No, it's just that the Hades Tournament is about to begin."

"Ah," Neptune smiled. "Don't worry! I think the three of us will do good!"

I shrugged. "I hope so. I've been waiting for this my whole life..."

"Don't worry," Neptune gave my hand a squeeze and smiled warmly. "I'll be right by your side!"

I returned her smile and pecked her cheek. "Thanks..."

The two of us arrived at the Hades Building, which was packed with students. Somehow, we had all managed to file into the building and make our way up to the BSA room.

We were all ushered to the stands. Neptune and I had managed to find seats beside Luna and Shiri. Luna waved at us as we took our seats. "Hey! How was last night?"

I smiled. "It was fun. You were right."

"I heard they played really good music during the dance," Shiri said. "Was it good?"

Neptune and I exchanged looks, shrugging. "I don't know. It sounded good but I don't know what you'd think about it."

"Well, that's beside the point though," Luna nodded down to the arena, where Victor stood with the other leaders. "We're here for this..."

"Yeah..."

We watched as Victor cleared his throat. "May I please have everyone's attention?"

At his booming voice, the lively stands became silent.

"Thank you," Victor smiled. "Now, I'm sure you all know why you are all gathered here today. Today is the beginning of the Hades Tournament! Because of that, we'll be putting off classes. Those that are attending will have until the afternoon to prepare. The pairings will be revealed once this announcement is over. Lastly, good luck to all of you that shall be attending!"

As he began making his way off the arena, the stands began roaring with cheers and chants, shaking the room.

I looked over at the three girls. "Let's go see who we'll be fighting!"

The three girls nodded and followed me down to the arena floor, where a board was now standing and displaying the pairings.

The board displayed the various pairings of the first round. Though, we were just going against some random people.

What I was excited for was when the matches would start narrowing down and we could really test our skills.

Shiri shrugged. "We should be fine for the first few rounds. After that, that's when we can really see how far we've come."

Neptune formed a wide grin. "That's right! Hey, how about we don't show off anything until the teams start to dwindle?"

I shrugged. "Actually, that's pretty smart in its own way... Also, people won't be able to counter us for a while because they won't know what we'll be using."

"Good luck to you guys," Luna smiled at us. "I hope you three will win!"

We returned my sister's smile. "Thanks."

The three of us went off to go prepare.

Finally, after so long of a wait, the Hades Tournament had finally begun.

And that also gave me a chance to help Shiri achieve her goal.


	30. Chapter 28

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 28]**

I let out a deep breath, fiddling with my thumbs. As I sat on the bench and waited for my match, Shiri and Neptune walked into the room, smiling. I looked up at them. "How'd it go? Did you two win your matches?"

They both nodded. "It wasn't anything really challenging," Shiri said.

I gave a nod. "Well, if one of you would have lost, you two would've stayed in since I'm here."

Neptune grinned widely. "I'm so glad that they made that rule! It would've sucked if we couldn't team up."

I smiled. "Yeah, I agree."

During the first part of the tournament, everyone—even if you were on a team—fought individually. If you managed to get disqualified but had another team member still in the tournament, then you could still participate in the final brackets where the teams fought one another. As long as you still had one team member that hadn't been disqualified before the final brackets, you could still fight as a team.

Luckily, none of us had been eliminated thus far.

It was now the final round of the single brackets.

"By the way, who are you going up against?" Neptune asked.

I gave a wry smile. "I'm facing Yami."

"O-Oh," Neptune's expression turned curious. "Isn't he the stereotypical rival?"

I shrugged. "I guess..."

I felt Shiri place a hand on my shoulder. "Sigi, be careful. He's not somebody to take lightly."

"Yeah, I know," I let out a sigh and stood from the bench. "I fought him once before. He's strong."

"Just be careful," Shiri suggested. They began to walk away. "Good luck."

I let out a deep breath and ventured into my head, trying to find the golden figure. _Please, give me strength to win this..._

My prayer was soon answered as I felt it's familiar power begin to course through my veins.

 **"Like I said, I'm here to help you. Now, go and defeat that boy this time."**

I smiled and gave a nod as the door opened to allow me to enter the BSA arena.

I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath. _I swear I won't lose!_

Reopening my eyes, I made my way to the arena, while the people cheered for us. Standing directly across from me was Yami, his expression still cold and lifeless.

Unlike before, the BSA arena now had an invisible barrier around it to protect the audience and keep us from destroying anything.

Harez stood on a floating platform between us. "Alright, laddies! Ye can either win by knocking the other man unconscious, making one unable to fight or by making them submit defeat. If one of ya manages to kill the other, ye shall be disqualified. Now, do ye lads have any objections?"

We both shook our heads, locking eyes.

Harez gave a nod. "Alrighty! Once I'm gone, the BSA will create a simulated environment. Good luck to y'all!"

The arena around us became bathed in a white light, blinding us both. As it faded away, I opened my eyes to find us in a forest clearing.

"BEGIN!"

*HSHH!*

Without wasting any time, Yami channeled frost and the air around became extremely thin and cold, just like before.

He was now cloaked in the same aura as before. Not wasting any time, I let my blades energy flow and cranked my Limiter up to the fourth level.

This time, Yami's chilling aura was colder, even managing to kill some of the nearby trees.

"This time, I'll make sure to kill you," Yami said, his eyes glowing a chilling blue.

I let out a sigh. "Well, look's like you really were trying to kill me. Though, I don't know why."

The frost around him took form in an ice dragon, ready to strike me. "It doesn't matter. You'll already be dead."

*CRASH!*

As the ice dragon shot towards me, I jumped out of the way. Just as I got ready to move, I was met by a stream of ice spikes.

I channeled my lightning into my sword and struck at the ice as it came closer. Instantly, the stream shattered into thousands of ice chunks.

While Yami was paused, I pulled my blade from the ground and burst towards him. As I reached him, I slammed my head against him, causing him to fall to the ground.

*Shk!*

Just before I could drive my blade into him, an icicle shot up from nowhere, barely hitting my arm.

While I recoiled, Yami kicked me in the gut before blowing me further back with an explosion of cold air.

*BOOM!*

I was blown from the clearing and into the forest, slamming through several trees and crashing into the side of a boulder.

*CRASH!*

"Gh...!" Pulling myself free, I quickly rolled to the side, barely missing a giant glacier slamming into the rock.

Finding Yami, I burst forward.

*SHK!*

Just as he noticed me, I cut at him, landing a gash at his chest. Before he could recover from that, I kneed him in his gut before kicking him to the ground.

I pulsed out lightning at him, shocking him. Following that, I charged my blade with lightning and stabbed my sword into his body, making sure it didn't hit anything vital.

"Haaa..." I then stumbled back, catching my breath.

"Heh, you really think that's enough to put me down?"

"…!"

*BOOM!*

Shocked, I was suddenly pinned to the ground as Yami managed to pull himself up and slam my head into the ground.

He turned my head to face him, holding me by the neck.

Even though parts of his body were burned and he had a giant gash in his stomach, he didn't seem to be struggling.

He smiled, his piercing blue eyes staring into mine. "I know I'm not supposed to kill you, but there's been a change of plans. Besides, it'll be worth it..."

"A-Agh...!"

I felt his hold on me tighten, squeezing the air from me and making my body turn ice cold. As I struggled, I felt my energy slowly leaving me.

 _D-Damn it!_

His smile turned to a wide grin. "Goodbye..."

Using what little energy I had left in me, I bit his hand, causing him to recoil back and drop me. I gasped for breath while he glared at me.

"You dirty bitch!" Yami's eyes were now burning hot. "I'LL MURDER YOU!"

I did my best to laugh as I forced myself back to my feet, the energy slowly returning to me. "Maybe in another life... I said I was going to win and that's what I'm going to do!"

I felt power surge through me and amplify the lightning aura emitting from me.

"...Heh..." Yami then smirked. "You'll die here. In front of your sister, your lover, the girl you made a promise to and all of your friends! You'll never see your parents, you orphan!"

"…!"

*CRASH!*

Seeming to snap something in my mind, anger surged through my body and I launched towards him, quickly pinning him to the ground. I then began bashing his head into the hard dirt, creating more and more blood.

As I felt my hands become soaked in blood, I finally stopped bashing his head in. Though, I didn't stop attacking.

I let my power course through me and let it all out on him, shocking him with lightning.

His body became burnt as I threw him back.

"Hahaha... HAHAHA!" However, he was still somehow alive.

While he was laughing like a maniac, he rose to his feet. "That's more like it! Do you see now!? Do you see now the cruel reality of the world we live in!? Dreams don't come true! This tournament and everything we love is all just a lie! A sham! The only real goal is to burn this world!"

I gritted my teeth. "Why can't you just be a normal person!? Why are you such a psychotic bitch!?"

"Psychotic? No," Yami shook his head. "Unlike the rest of you, I'm just aware of the cruel reality of this world. We were born to ruin this world, not make it better! We're the things that will bring an end to society!"

"No," I shook my head. "We're going to be the ones that change the world. Whether good or bad. We can shape it if we believe and try hard enough..."

"Fuck that bullshit," the cold frost aura around Yami turned to an ice blue flame before gathering it all into his fist. "I'm going to end you right now and show you why I'm right."

I let out a sigh and picked up my sword that lay beside me. I then charged it with lightning. "Then I'll prove my point with this next blow, too."

Dark clouds swept through the simulated blue skies. The air became ice cold and lightning crackled the area around, taunting at the dark clouds.

I let out a deep breath and positioned myself.

*Bang!*

The two of us rocketed towards each other. Time seemed to slow as we came closer and closer.

*Shk!* *BOOM!*

As I drove my blade into his chest, I felt a burning pain explode in my jaw. The next thing I knew, I found myself laying on the ground, completely drained of energy and unable to feel any sensations in my body.

Forcing my head up, I found Yami also collapsed on the ground, a blade stabbed right through his chest.

Despite the burning pain I was feeling, I was somehow able to get myself back to my feet.

"G-Gh!"

As I winced in pain, I made my way towards Yami. His aura, like mine, had faded.

After dragging myself towards him, I found him lying there. Though, his eyes were still open and staring at me. "Surprised to see me still alive?"

I just stared down at him. "Why don't you know when to give up?"

"Because of what I just showed you," he coughed out. "The cruel reality of this world. Because we're all alone and we're only lying to ourselves with people. In the end, they'll all betray you..."

"…" Weak, my body fell, crashing right in front of him. I glared into his eyes. "I...don't know what you've been through, but you need to stop telling yourself lies!"

"What do you mean...?" His hollow eyes stared back into mine.

"For the most part, I've never really known my parents, they sent me here... I never knew what it was like to have parents. But...it's because I didn't have something like that that I was able to become the me I am today. I wanted to live up to whatever expectations they had of me," I explained. "It's because I didn't have something that everyone had that I decided to become a better person."

"…" For a moment, he just stared back silently. "Why are you telling me this...?"

I forced my best smile I could muster. "Because, even if your life sucked, you can still learn from that and become a better you. Be better than your past self and not let others live the mistake you made..."

"…" I watched as he smiled. It was the first time I'd ever seen him smile. Then, he let out a sigh. "I give up."

"H-Huh!?"

Not only was I surprised, by so was the entire stadium.

Harez then floated down to us. "I'm sorry, but did I hear ya correctly? Ya forfeit?"

"Yeah, I quit," Yami said.

Harez nodded. "I see..."

"A-Ah..." I could only stare at Yami with a blank expression as he closed his eyes.

Harez cleared his throat. "Attention! Yami Kai has just submitted defeat! Therefore, Sigi's the lad that'll be advancing!"

The crowd burst into roars of cheers. Harez smiled down at us. "Good job, ye laddies!"

However, I was too focused on Yami, who was just laying there with his eyes closed. "W-Why... did you surrender? Didn't you want to kill me?"

"Hmph," Yami managed to get to his feet, still smiling. "I have my own reasons. Besides, you reminded me of something that I had to take care of. Something more important than this dumb tournament."

"Heh..." I smiled as he walked off. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime..."

I closed my eyes and laid there as the simulated environment returned to the basic arena.

Whatever his reason for quitting had been, Yami had shown me mercy and I was grateful for that. It was also the first time I had seen any sort of color in his eyes. It was like he was actually living for once in his life.

But, I was too tired to put too much thought into it.

So, for a while longer, I laid there on the arena floor, eyes closed...


	31. Chapter 29

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 29]**

I let out a sigh as I made my way to the waiting room, where Neptune, Luna, and Shiri were waiting for me. I stumbled onto the bench, giving them my best smile.

Neptune then ran up and hugged me. "I'm so happy that you won!"

Despite how happy I was that she had hugged me, I winced from the immense pain. "N-Neptune? C-Could you try not to hug me so tightly right now? I-It kinda hurts..."

"Sorry dorry!" Neptune quickly pulled away, laughing it off. "I'm just glad that you won!"

"Yeah, so am I..." I turned to Luna, who was also smiling at me. "So, what'd you think of that match?"

Luna smiled. "I'm glad you won, too. Though, I got a bit worried for you..."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "I said I would win, didn't I?"

Those words seemed to dispel any worry left on Luna's face. "Yeah, I guess you're right!"

"Still, I'm surprised Yami forfeited," Shiri said. "Him especially. I mean, I'm glad you won, but I'm still confused as to why he quit..."

I smiled at her. "Even I don't know. But, I have a feeling he's finally woken up..."

Shiri cocked her head. "Woken up? Sigi, what are you talking about?"

I simply just let out a laugh. "It's nothing! I just have a feeling I'll see him soon again."

Shiri just shook her head. "I'll never understand you..."

"Don't worry about me right now," I suggested. "Isn't your match next?"

"O-Oh, that's right," Shiri said. "I guess I'll have to go get ready. Make sure you guys watch my match, alright?"

The three of us smiled at her. "Do your best!" Luna beamed her a bright smile.

I nodded. "We'll be rooting for you."

Shiri gave a nod. "Yeah..."

We then hurried to the stands to watch the match.

She would be fighting Kane Shoulen—the leader of the Researchers.

* * *

 **[Shiri]**

I let out a deep breath as the doors opened to allow me to walk to the arena floor.

I slowly began making my way there, Kane's figure becoming clearer the closer I got.

He didn't exactly have any powers, so that was a plus. Though, he did have a device that could turn into anything he wanted. Meaning, he'd be able to cancel out anything I threw at him.

 _Not if I use "that" though..._

I shook my head. That was something I didn't want to reveal. The people at the school had only seen glimpses of it, but not the true power. And I didn't plan on revealing it until I fought Victor.

I finally stepped onto the arena.

All I had to do was get his weapon away from him, maybe even destroy it. From there, I'd be all set for a win.

I walked up to him until we were a few feet apart. Harez then floated down. "Alright, ya laddies know the rules, eh?"

We both nodded. Harez then grinned widely. "Then I'll let ya'll get this over with! Good luck to the two of ya!"

The cheers of the stadium grew louder as Harez floated off. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, allowing the nature to gather.

"BEGIN!"

Snapping my eyes open, I coated both of my arms in steel and quickly blocked an incoming strike from Kane's blade. We both then hopped away from each other as the arena turned to the top of a mountain.

If it were a forest, I'd have more options. Though, a rocky biome was good too. I let out a sigh. All I needed was three minutes. Once that happened, I would be able to easily win.

As I returned my focus back to the battle, I found several blasts of energy speeding towards me. Reactively, I raised up the earth to act as a barrier.

The blasts exploded as they touched the hardened earth wall, creating a thick cloud of smoke around me. I let my energy guide me, finding the position of Kane. I then blasted several bolts of lightning at him, hurrying out of the smoke.

"…!" As I made it out, I was met by several more blasts of energy right in my face.

*BOOM!*

Without the time to raise any barriers, I raised my metal arms and guarded, blowing me back. Just as I got ready to get up, Kane suddenly appeared in front of me, a sword ready to be stabbed into me.

I kicked at the blade, averting it's course and blasted fire right at Kane's face, knocking him back.

I caught my breath and got back up. He did the same.

"Interesting..." Kane smiled at me. "You really are an interesting one, daughter of the Second Ruler..."

I stared at him. "And you're pretty formidable for not having an ability. Tell me, how did you develop that weapon of yours?"

"Heh," He let out a laugh, turning it into a gun. "Please, I know what you're doing..."

*Bang!*

Several blasts of energy suddenly shot towards me. As fast as I could, I pulsed out energy and managed to dispel the shots.

I quickly took a step back, barely avoiding the extended laser blade Kane had produced.

 _One minute left..._

*BOOM!*

Before he could move, I forced the mountain to break, splitting a giant crack down the mountain, dividing us.

He had fallen to the ground due to that and I quickly blasted two ice spikes at him.

*Crash!*

Though, by the time the ice reached him, they were shattered by Kane's new weapon, a white ball.

*CRACK!*

As I noticed it's glow, I jumped away from its view as it sped passed me and crashed through a boulder.

"…!"

*Smash!*

Just as I spun back to him, I was met by another white ball speeding towards me. Reactively, my arms turned to crystal and I knocked it away, smashing it into thousands of pieces as it slammed into the ground.

*Crack!*

"A-Agh...!" I crumpled to the ground as another one appeared and pounded me at the jaw.

*Crash!*

I did my best to roll away from yet another ball, smashing into the place I had once been at.

"…!"

Managing to get to my feet, I noticed several more balls coming straight towards me.

I clenched my fists. _Thirty seconds left..._

*Bang!*

Manipulating the earth around, I rose earth walls on all sides of me, protecting me from the balls that had been coming from all angles.

So far, I had done nothing but play defense. If I could last twenty more seconds...

*BOOM!*

"A-Agh!"

Suddenly, a claw crashed through the hard earth walls and slammed me to the ground. I felt my energy slowly being drained from me as I struggled to free myself.

Kane, smiling, walked up to me. "Well, how was it that you managed to get caught? I thought you had good reaction, too..."

A shadowy claw extended from a small black cube in his hand. "W-What is that thing!?"

He smirked, nodding to the black cube. "This is my latest addition to my weapon arsenal. I actually created it myself from all the research I'd done. Basically, it drains the power from anyone, unable to be destroyed by anything."

"A-Agh!"

I felt it's grip tighten, squeezing my body until I felt as if it were cracking.

My vision slowly faded, washing out all the colors around. The only thing I could see was my mother standing in front of me. Everything around burned.

"M-Mom..."

I watched as she raised her blood-soaked hands, staring into her dark eyes. "Die."

"…!"

*BOOM!*

Catching my breath, the world around seemed to return to me. But power suddenly flowed through me, creating an aura.

As my aura touched the shadow claw, it was vaporized. Kane suddenly jumped back.

The power kept pouring into me, fusing with the nature's energy.

Kane could only stare at in horror as more and more power kept flowing into me. "W-What are you!? What is this!?"

"…" The power didn't stop coming and it left me unable to speak. I simply raised a hand at him and pulsed out energy.

*BOOM!*

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

We all watched as Shiri suddenly burst with power, destroying the terrain around.

Like us, Kane was also in shock as Shiri cast an aura that vaporized the claw that had restrained her.

Kane stumbled back, eyes horrified. "W-What are you!? What is this!"

"…" Though, Shiri didn't respond. All she did was raise a hand and pulse out energy.

*BOOM!*

Even though it was one blow, the energy shattered the mountain and ripped away at Kane as he was blown away.

The arena suddenly turned back to its original form. Shiri hovered slightly from the floor. The aura she cast gave off an intense feeling, like anything you did would cause you to break. It felt grand, yet horrifying.

Luna turned to me. "Sigi, do you know what that is?"

I shrugged. "I've never seen anything like that before. I wonder..."

"What is it?"

I quickly shook my head and smiled at my sister. "No, it's nothing."

Turning my attention back to the arena, Harez floated down to Kane's body. He then hopped off his platform and checked for his pulse. We watched as he let out a relieved sigh. "Kane Shoulen has been knocked out! Therefore, Shiri Sensos is the winner of this round!"

The crowds began clapping, roaring with cheers. Though, I couldn't get the thought of her aura's presence out of my head.

Shiri's aura then faded and she passed out on the floor. The paramedics quickly took her and rushed both of the participants to the hospital. Whatever that had been, it certainly was a power I had never seen before.

* * *

 **[Grim]**

"…" I watched as she fell to the floor, collapsed. My lips curled into a smile. "Well, looks like we might have to do this sooner than expected..."


	32. Chapter 30

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 30]**

 **[Sigi]**

Neptune, Luna and I had followed after to check up on Shiri after she and Kane had been rushed to the infirmary.

We found Shiri sitting upright on her bed, sipping from a glass of water. She set it down and smiled at us. "Hey."

"How are you doing?" Neptune cut straight to the point. "You passed out earlier."

She gave a light laugh. Though, her skin was paler than usual. "I'm fine; I should be ready for the final brackets when they come. I... I just got a bit light headed, that's all."

I let out a sigh and shook my head in shame. "There was no way you passed out from being light headed. After that display of power you showed, I highly doubt that was it."

"Yeah..." Shiri just shook her head. "Sorry... By the way, how's Kane doing? Is he alright?"

Luna smiled. "He's fine. You just managed to knock him out with that one blow."

Shiri did her best to smile. "That's good."

"But what was that power you used?" I couldn't help but ask. "It was nothing like anything you ever showed at training. Do you have some secret power you can't tell anyone about?"

"N-No, it's not that," Shiri responded by shaking her head over and over. "I-I didn't know what that was. I-It was weird... I don't know; I have an idea as to what it could be, but I'm not ready to take shots into the dark."

I gave a nod. "I know what you mean. I have my guesses, too, but I'm not ready to confirm them. You just get some rest and be prepared for the final brackets."

"Thanks..." As she trailed off, her gaze landed on Neptune, who had been running in tiny circles. "Neptune, good luck to you."

"H-Huh?" She suddenly stopped and looked at Shiri. "W-What do you mean?"

Shiri gave a giggle. "Well, isn't your match going to start soon?"

"Oh shoot! I completely forgot!" Neptune wore a panicked look. "Thanks, Shiri! I'll see you guys there!"

Neptune then dashed off while we watched her run. I shook my head. "If only she'd get her priorities straight..."

"But isn't that a reason why you like her?" Luna asked, grinning.

I shrugged and let out a sigh. "Yeah... I guess you're right..."

"Well, you guys head off to the BSA," Shiri advised. "I'm going to try to recover as much as I can."

Luna and I nodded before departing to go watch Neptune's match. I then stopped before we exited the infirmary door. "Luna, I just realized something..."

She looked back at me. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Why didn't Neptune just teleport to the arena? She has the ability to."

"O-Oh..." Luna came to the same realization as I had. "Well, I hope she makes it..."

I let out a sigh. "Me, too..."

* * *

 **[Neptune]**

"Shoot!"

I was halfway to the BSA room when I realized I could've warped there. "Dangit! Where are those advice reminders when you need them?!"

I closed my eyes. Finding the BSA room, I warped over there, stumbling as I landed upon the arena floor.

Harez and Noire were both staring at me in surprise. "Well, didn't think ye were gonna show up, lassie. We were just about to disqualify ya!"

I gasped. "Hey! That's not fair! I got to have a POV and everything! I demand we have a match right now to see who actually gets to go on!"

Harez chuckled. It irritated me that I was being laughed at by a midget man. "Well, lucky for ya, ye had a second left before we were gonna disqualify ya. Since ya made it just in time, the two of ya can have yer little match."

I grinned widely. "Sweet! Love ya, midget man!"

Noire rolled her eyes at me. "What's the point? We all know I'M going to win anyways."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Whatever! Keep boasting! You're way too stereotypical of a character anyways! I've had way more appearances in this story than you, ya lonely loner!"

I grinned as she flinched at my words. "I-I'm NOT a loner! If you want your match so badly, I'll give it to you! But don't come crying to me when you lose!"

My grin remained on my face. "At least I have friends to come crying to!"

Her face became beet red and she spun to Harez. "That's it! Start the god damn match!"

The two of us jumped back, I pulled out my dual blades while she drew her rapier.

"BEGIN!"

The arena turned to a building top, high up in the sky where it was hard to breathe. If either of us were to fall, we'd blow up into millions of pieces.

"…!"

Noire had suddenly appeared in my face, thrusting her blade at my face.

"Yah!"

I had managed to dodge right before the blade could stab me. Following up, I did a cross slash at her.

*Clang!*

Though, she quickly regained her form and parried my strike, leaving me exposed.

*Slash!*

Just as she sliced at me again, I warped out of the way, only allowing her to land a cut on my hoodie. I frowned as I stared at the tear. "I had to pay good money for this, you jerk!"

"I don't care about your damn clothes!" Noire shouted. "Now hold still!"

I shook my head as she charged towards me. "Somebody forgot to do something this month..."

In a fit of rage, she began slicing at me, no form to be found in her slashes. Though, that made it easier for me to dodge them.

*Clang!*

As she continued to swing with rage, I also continued countering her blows. Finding an opening in her form, I took my turn and slashed, knocking her blade from her hand and causing it to roll off the building top.

"A-Agh!"

I kicked her at her stomach and sent her away. I let out a sigh. "Jeez, too close. Have you ever heard of personal space?"

"Haven't you ever heard of shutting up and minding your own business!?" Noire snapped back as she stood back up.

"Ehehe!" Another grin crossed my face. "Sorry, I'm a talker! But how are you going to fight now? You don't even have a weapon..."

Noire smirked, however. "I won't need one to beat you. In fact, this is perfect!"

I stared at her for a moment. I then gasped from realization. "Wait a second! Are you saying this isn't your final form!? Please don't tell me you have like four other forms!"

"N-No! Shut up!" Noire shouted, dismissing my assumptions. "Just know that you're not going to like what's about to happen next!"

I snorted. "Yeah, that's what they all say..."

She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything back. Instead, she took off her hair ribbons, letting her hair flow down. She then knotted the ribbons to attach to her arms, barely dangling from her hands.

I cocked my head at her. "R-Ribbons? Are you going to try to tickle me to death? I am actually pretty ticklish."

However, Noire just dashed forward and swiped at me.

"Ah!' I hopped back, only allowing her ribbons to graze against my clothes. "Ha! You misse—!"

Before I could finish speaking, thousands of blades appeared from thin air and shot towards me.

"…!"

*Clang!*

"Haaa..." I had managed to warp to another part of the building top just before the blades had struck me. There were several blades stabbed into the spot I had been at. "Jeez... Either I'm crazy, or I actually do know that power from somewhere..."

Noire then turned to me; her expression was calm. "Are you going to give up yet?"

I shook my head. "You must really be dumb if you're asking that question! Of course not, you dingus!"

"Hmph," Noire smirked again. "And you must be dumb for even considering continuing."

I took a stance and braced myself. All I had to do was pin her arms so that she couldn't use the ribbons. After that, it was game. That, or I jumped off the building. Hopefully, since it was a simulated environment, I wouldn't actually die.

"…!"

She launched towards me again as I sheathed one of my swords and pulled out my gun.

As she lashed towards me, I warped out of the way. Appearing a bit behind her, I fired several bullets aimed at her arms. Though, she rolled out of the way, avoiding the bullets barely.

Just before I let out her finish rolling, I warped in front of her and slashed at her.

*Clang!*

She countered by managing to get the ribbons to make contact with me, causing a thousand more swords to speed towards me.

I quickly warped away before my blade could make contact with her skin. So far, I had only managed to land a single slash to her clothes as she had done to me.

I let out a frustrated sigh. "Man, you're so stubborn! Just let me win!"

Noire smirked. "As if I would let that happen!"

She lunged forward and whipped at me once again. I warped to the edge of the building and watched as she charged towards me once again.

I was starting to run low on energy from all the warping, making my situation pretty bad news bears. Deciding on my strategy, I quickly put my weapons away as Noire sped towards me.

Noire then lunged forward. "It's over!"

Without hesitation, I took the risk and hopped off the building as the blade grazed me and shot at the spot I had been, pinning Noire to the building top.

Though that was good and all, I was now falling at an incredibly fast rate.

"G-Gh!" Managing to find something to latch onto, I grabbed onto a thin metal ledge. My hands were already sweating from tightly gripping my weapons.

I bit my lip and tried to tighten my hold on the ledge. Though, I was gradually slipping.

"Wait a second!" Ignoring the fact that I had been falling, I let out a loud groan. "WHY AM I SO DUMB!?"

Like before, I had forgotten that I could warp. I closed my eyes and looked for the building top, forgetting the fact that I was slowly losing my grip.

"…!"

Just as my hand slipped and I lost my grip, I warped to the building top, stumbling to the floor. "Bah!"

Though, I didn't have time to lay down. I dragged myself back to my feet and made my way over to Noire, who was still pinned to the floor by her own blade.

I grinned as I squatted down to face her. "Heya, friendly friend! What's the happs?"

She only stared at me in frustration. "I get it; I lost. Rub it in."

I frowned and shook my head. "I wasn't going to rub it in! I was just going to say that you did really good!"

Hearing my words, Noire's mouth fell open. Then she quickly recovered herself and stared at me. "Y-You're not joking, r-right? I-It's not like I care, b-but...I'm just curious..."

I grinned widely. "Nope! Not at all, you Tsundere you!"

"S-Shut up!"

I smiled at her as I began pulling the blade pinning her down. "Also, sorry about those things I said. They were just things that came out of my mouth!"

Noire shook her head as she rose back up. "It's alright. Thanks for a good fight though."

I gave a nod as Noire turned to Harez. "I surrender! Neptune wins!"

The arena then returned to normal and Noire's weapon was found to be at the edge of the arena. Harez gave a nod. "Neptune is the winner of this round!"

The stadium of people roared with cheers as I smiled at Noire. She returned the gesture. "Good luck to you in the final brackets."

I giggled. "Shucks, thanks!"

She nodded as she began to walk off. "Do your best."

I then formed a wide grin. "By the way, I'm not sorry about any of the stuff I said and you're still a lonely loner!"

"WHAT!?" Noire snapped her head back to me.

But just before she could give chase, I warped away.


	33. Chapter 31

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 31]**

 **[Sigi]**

"Ah!"

As Luna and I were making our way down to congratulate Neptune on winning, she suddenly warped and fell on me, sending us both tumbling to the floor.

Neptune, who was sitting on top of me, quickly got off. "Sorry! I didn't think I'd land on you!"

I let out a sigh as I rose back to my feet. "It's alright. So, how'd it go?"

Neptune wore a wide grin. "I won!"

Luna smiled. "That's good! At least that ensures that you and Sigi will end up in the final brackets."

Neptune gave a nod. "Yup! There are still some matches left before the finals! Do you guys wanna go watch some of them?"

I shrugged. "Sure, might as well."

The next match was supposed to be Blanc versus Vert. To be honest, I was pretty intrigued by the outcome. So, the three of us went off to watch the match.

* * *

We had found seats together at the benches. Sadly, Angel, Brindle, Uzume, Plutia and everyone else weren't there to join us. Most likely, they were getting ready for their matches.

We stared down at the arena. Vert and Blanc were a few feet away from each other, Harez confirming if they were ready.

The two of them nodded and pulled out their weapons. Vert's was a spear while Blanc's was a hammer.

"BEGIN!"

The arena turned to a cold ocean environment with a thin ice platform keeping them standing.

"Sigi, who do you think is going to win?" Luna asked.

I shrugged. "My bet's on Blanc."

"Hm? Really?" Neptune turned to me with a surprised expression. "I thought Mcbusty was going to pull out the win..."

I shrugged. "I don't know. If she can use such a big hammer, then it makes me wonder what else she could do."

"I don't really think I can decide," Luna said, disappointed. "I don't really know much about the Researchers to even make a bet."

"Doesn't matter! It'll still be fun to watch!" Neptune said, grinning widely.

I gave a nod as I turned my attention down to the arena.

*Bang!*

Vert had managed to catch Blanc in her spear cage. Even though thousands of spears were attacking her every second, Blanc remained calm, somehow managing to knock each one away. Luckily the cage was big enough so that she could move around in the cage.

"Woah! How's she doing that?" Neptune stared at Blanc in awe.

I shrugged. "Not sure. Though, it's impressive."

Blanc's hammer suddenly became armored in ice, making the head become icy with jagged spikes.

"Yah!"

*BOOM!*

In one blow from her hammer, Blanc had destroyed the cage, the force of the blow managing to knock away all the spears and blowing Vert back.

I whistled lowly. "Yeah, my bet is definitely on Blanc..."

"For being such a small person, she sure is strong..." Luna commented.

While Vert struggled to regain her balance, Blanc lunged towards her.

*BOOM!*

As she swung the hammer, Vert rolled out of the way, barely avoiding a blow that struck at the air and blew a hole in a nearby glacier.

Vert then thrust her spear towards Blanc.

*Bang!*

However, Blanc quickly countered by slamming the spear to the ground. Following that, Blanc lunged for Vert once again. This time, Blanc struck before Vert could react, smashing the head of her hammer into Vert's stomach.

Vert was slammed into the ice cold water, causing the arena to return to its normal state. Vert now lay—eyes closed—on the BSA floor, clothes and body soaked.

Harez floated down to her and checked for a pulse. He let out a relieved sigh as he found it. "Blanc is the winner of this round!"

We clapped while others shouted her name. Blanc just simply waved before walking off the arena.

I smiled. "Well, what did I say?"

Neptune shrugged. "Yeah, that was really impressive. She must have some secret cheat code..."

Luna shrugged. "It doesn't matter. There are still four more rounds before the final brackets start. Do you guys wanna keep watching?"

Neptune and I both grinned. "Heck yeah!"

* * *

Tsuki—the leader of the Gunners—had gone against some random person who had somehow made it pretty far. Though, he lost a minute after the match started.

Now, the match would be between Angel and Jumon, the leader of the Sorcerers.

The two of them stood on the arena floor, shaking hands. Like usual, Harez made sure they were both prepared before hovering away.

"BEGIN!"

*Bang!*

As Jumon fired a bolt of energy at Angel, he quickly pulled out his sword and sliced it in half. The arena then turned to a floating platform in the middle of space, planets orbiting around.

The platform they stood in had an oxygen bubble cast around it. That meant that, if either one of them were to be knocked off the platform, they would quickly die. Because of that, the arena would probably turn back to normal once the person began losing oxygen.

"Woah, this one looks cool!" Neptune stared at the simulated environment in amazement. "Have they ever used this environment before?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. This might be a new one."

*Bang!*

We watched as Jumon began barraging Angel with various bolts of elements. However, no matter how many she barraged him with, Angel managed to counter them by either dodging or knocking them away.

*Boom!*

Jumon fired yet another bolt of energy. Though this one was a different color from the rest. As Angel's blade made contact with it, he was blown away.

He landed right at the edge of the platform, his blade almost falling out of the oxygen bubble. Angel rose back to his feet and picked up his longsword before it escaped the bubble.

He let out a sigh and shook his head. "Looks like I'll have to take this seriously..."

Jumon smiled. "That's what I was hoping for. If you hadn't, I would've made sure I knocked you off."

Angel returned her smile with a smirk. "Is that so? Well, I guess I'll just have to knock you off first..."

* * *

 **[Jumon]**

Angel smirked from hearing my words. "Is that so? Well, I guess I'll just have to knock you off first..."

"I'll be sure that doesn't happen," I said. I let the elements flow inside of me. Whatever he did next, I would have some way to counter it. "Hey, even if you do lose, you'll still be able to advance to the final brackets if your partner makes it."

"That doesn't matter to me," Angel said, a dark substance slowly beginning to crawl up his body. "I plan to win no matter what."

Gritting his teeth, the dark substance took over him, leaving him as a completely black figure.

*Bang!*

Without any warning, he charged forward with incredible speed. Suddenly appearing in front of me, I raised a reflective barrier just before his blade struck me, knocking him back. He was definitely faster than before.

*Bang!*

Just as he regained his footing, he lunged at me again. "…!"

Blocking his strike with another barrier, he suddenly swept behind me. Spinning around, I fired a bolt right at his face. Though, he quickly knocked it away and kicked me in my stomach.

"G-Gh!"

I was blown away by the force of his kick and was sent sprawling to the edge of the platform. If I were to let my guard down for even a second, I would surely fall out and lose.

"…!"

*Clang!*

Just as I turned my head up, I was suddenly met by the sight of Angel's blade coming down on me. Somehow, I managed to roll out of the way and kick him away.

While he stumbled back, I shot out a blast of wind at him as I rose to my feet.

Even though I had hit him at full blast with the wind, the blast only caused him to stagger back a few feet.

*Bang!*

I followed by blasting energy at him. Though, he knocked it away and dashed towards me once again.

*Crash!*

I raised a barrier, only to be countered by him sliding behind it and kicking me down.

Just before he could slash at me, I released energy from my body, blowing Angel back.

As he was blown back, he caught himself and did a spinning motion in the air, landing on all fours. He then pounced forward.

This time, I was unable to react fast enough as he slammed his head against mine. While I was staggered, he grabbed me by the head and slammed it into the hard platform.

Pain exploded in my skull as he continued pounding my head over and over. Eventually, he stopped and threw me to the floor.

Just before I could move, I felt a tremendous force smash into my side, blowing me away. I had been kicked off and suddenly lost all of my breath, unable to breathe as I floated in space.

The arena suddenly turned back to normal and I gasped for air, crumpling to the floor.

"Angel's the winner of this round!"

In such a short amount of time, Angel had managed to take me out. What surprised me, even more, was the fact that he probably hadn't used all of his power.

"Hey..." Finding a hand stretched out to me, I looked up to see Angel, wearing a tired expression and the dark substance gone from his body. "Need some help?"

"Yeah..." I gave a smile and took his offered hand. He pulled me back to my feet and I let out a sigh. "Good job, really. You beat me so fast."

"Thanks," Angel nodded. "Though, if that match would have continued for any longer, I probably would've lost. Seriously, that was a good match, even though it was pretty short."

I let out a laugh. "It probably would've dragged on if we weren't limited to fighting space. Maybe then I could've had a better chance."

He smiled. "Yeah, maybe. Well, hopefully, your team makes it to the final brackets. I hope to see you there."

I gave a nod as he walked off. "Same to you."

I then made my way off the arena and passed Andy along the way. The upcoming match would be Andy versus Brindle, followed up by the final individual match with Plutia and Uzume.

"Hm?" As I made it out of the hallway leading to the arena, I was met by the sight of Tsuki. She leaned against a wall, spinning one of her pistols on her fingers. "Tsuki, what are you doing here? Did you need to talk?"

Tsuki gave a nod as she returned her gun to its holster and turned to me, staring directly into my eyes. It was rare to see her looking so serious. "Jumon, I already spoke to Andy and Kane about this. I think it's only right you know, too."

I cocked my head at her. "What is it?"

Tsuki shook her head. "Let's go somewhere more secluded. I don't think it's safe to be talking about this in such an open space."

"Hold on," before she could turn and begin walking, I called after her. "Can you at least tell me why it's so important? What's the big deal?"

Tsuki turned her head back to me, her red eyes staring into mine. "All you need to know right now is that it's more important than the Hades Tournament. I'm saying this could affect all of Rouge. Even the world. Jumon, this isn't something we can dismiss..."


	34. Chapter 32

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 31]**

 **[Brindle]**

I let out a deep breath as I walked to the center of the arena, meeting up with Andy, the leader of the Bladers.

I knew he was strong, but what made it bad was that I was part of his faction. That meant that he had an understanding of my fighting style since he was also the person who watched over us when we were running through training.

Though, he had only seen my basic fighting style. He had yet to see any of my abilities.

Andy smiled at me. "Well, I didn't expect to be fighting you here, Brindle."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. I just have to win, that's all."

"Then good luck to you," Andy said.

I nodded. "Same to you."

As we finished giving our best regards to each other, Harez floated down. "Ye lads ready?"

The two of us nodded. Harez formed a wide grin. "Alright! Then let's not waste any more of yer time, eh?"

Andy and I locked eyes while Harez floated away. "BEGIN!"

"...!"

*Clang!*

The two of us had snapped our weapons out and slashed at each other, sending sparks flying and sending us both back as our weapons clashed.

I gripped both of my swords and did my best to read his movements. Even if he didn't have an ability, he was still very strong.

"…!"

*Clang!*

The arena began to change to a different environment, casting a white light around us. However, that was when Andy struck.

As I strained my senses to listen for him, I suddenly slashed to my right, knocking him back as the light faded away. Just before he recovered from his strike, I lunged forward and tried for a cross slash.

However, I was only parried as he continued to back away.

I took a quick moment to examine the new environment. The arena had been turned to an opening deep inside a cave. Dimly glowing crystals on the surfaces of the walls allowed us to see each other.

The two of us were in the clearing.

I bit my lip. If I were to use any of my abilities here, I wouldn't be able to hide well in the shadows. But, I could also use that to my advantage.

There was barely any light so I could hardly make out Andy. Because of that, I strained my senses.

*Bang!*

I watched as his figure moved into the darkness. Feeling his presence behind me, I slashed there with one of my blades, connecting with his own.

*Clang!*

Using my other blade, I swung in front of me, connecting with his blade again and creating sparks.

He was using the darkness to his advantage and, if he kept it up, I would surely lose.

That's when I realized something.

*FSHHHH!*

Flames burst from my body and created balls that filled every inch of darkness in the clearing. Not only was the room now lit and I could see Andy, but now I had something that could help me distract him.

He stood a few feet away from me, smiling. "Interesting... I didn't know you had such an ability..."

"That was the point," I took a stance and stared him down. "Now, you can't get me in the darkness, and these fireballs will attack at my command."

He let out a laugh and also shifted into a stance. "You certainly are an interesting newcomer, Brindle."

"And I plan to win as the newcomer," I said before lunging towards him.

*Bang!* *Clang!* *Boom!* *Shk!*

I dashed towards him and, spinning as I neared him for momentum, I swung my blades at him.

Andy quickly countered by dodging out of the way of one and parrying the other, leaving one side of me exposed.

Before he could strike, I forced my arms to move towards the blades, cross slashing at him and knocking his blade away. I then jumped back and commanded several blasts at him.

The blasts, dimming the light a bit, sped towards Andy. However, he managed to dodge two and slash away the other one.

Just as I got ready to lunge at him again, Andy beat me to it, appearing in front of me suddenly and slashing.

I quickly pulled away, only receiving a slight cut to my forearm.

*Crash!*

He sped towards me while I recovered from the hit. Tensing up, I dodged to the side, avoiding the thrust from his blade. Following up on that, I kicked him into the ground.

*FSHHH!*

While he tried to force himself back up under my foot, I burst into flames and began scorching his body.

"AGGGGH!"

*Shk!*

While he howled and cried out in pain, I stabbed both of my blades into his legs to make sure he wouldn't move.

*Sk!*

"G-Gh!"

Suddenly, I felt a burst of pain enter my ankle. As I looked down, I found a switchblade stabbed deep in there.

*Shk!*

Before I had the time to pull free from it, Andy—enduring through the flames—threw his blade right at me, stabbing right into my side.

I recoiled from the pain and fell to the ground as his flames extinguished.

"A-Agh!" Andy forced the swords from his body and dragged his way over to me, limping badly and holding one of my swords. "I'm going to win..."

*Sk!*

"…!"

I felt pain explode in my arm as he stabbed my blade into it before kicking me at my side.

"J-Just...give up..." Andy suggested. "L-Let's...just end this..."

I smiled though. "H-Heh... You forgot, didn't you...?"

"H-Huh?"

*BOOM!*

I then commanded all of the balls of fire to attack Andy, blasting and smashing him into the ground. The flames slowly spreading as the constant blasts also began to create a crater.

The arena then returned to its original form. Blood leaked onto the area around me while Andy lay right in front of me, body badly burnt and clothes tattered.

Harez then floated down to us, staring at Andy's burnt, lifeless body. "Geez, lass. Ya better not have made him kick the bucket..."

I gave a hard swallow. I hoped I hadn't...

Harez hopped off his platform and checked Andy for a pulse. He then chuckled. "Always knew this lad was tough, but maybe I didn't give him enough credit..."

Harez then looked back over at me. "Congratulations, lass! Ya won!"

"R-Really?" I stared up at him, surprised. I slowly formed a smile. "That's good..."

Harez then cleared his throat and faced the audience. "BRINDLE IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!"

I smiled and let my body collapse. "Thank goodness..."

"The two of ya are gonna need to hurry to the infirmary," Harez said as several men came to take us there. "Ya got matches pretty soon so you should try to recover as much as ye can."

I smiled. "Thanks..."

* * *

 **[Shiri]**

I let out a sigh as I pulsed out some energy. Magic sparked at my fingertips. I smiled. "I guess I should be ready..."

As I sat upright on my bed, Neptune and Sigi walked in. "Oh, are you feeling better?"

I turned to them and smiled. "Yeah, I'm ready. Who's fighting right now?"

Sigi frowned. "Actually, we're going now."

"H-Huh? Really?" I could only stare at him with surprise. "Weren't there supposed to be another two matches?"

"Actually, you missed both of them," Neptune stated. "After Brindle and Andy's fight, Uzume and Plutia fought. They whack-a-mole'd each other so bad that they both lost."

"O-Oh..." I let out a sigh. "That's a shame."

Neptune nodded. "Then Angel and Brindle fought against Blanc. She got bopped in the head within a few—"

"Okay, hold on," I cut Neptune off. "Can you use normal words and stop speaking in your own language for a bit? I'm pretty used to it now, but I don't think I can take you seriously right now."

"Fine..." Neptune let out a heavy sigh. "Basically, Brindle and Angel defeated Blanc within a few minutes. Now we have to go fight the leaders of the factions because they're on a team. There, is that serious enough for you?"

I smiled at her. "Yeah, that's better."

"Anyways, that's the point," Sigi said. "We're going to be fighting Andy, Jumon, Tsuki and Kane now. Don't worry about the two matches you didn't get to see. They went by pretty quickly anyways."

"Yeah, alright," I gave a nod. "Anyways, I feel better. Let's go fight them."

Sigi and Neptune nodded as I picked myself up from the bed and the three of us began to make our way to the arena.

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

"Hm?" Just before we made it through the hallway into the arena, we found all the faction leaders lined up, waiting for us. "H-Hey, aren't you guys supposed to be on the arena already, waiting to fight us?"

Jumon stepped up to us. Her expression seemed dead serious. "That's what we're here to talk about. We've already talked with Harez about this, but we're forfeiting."

"H-HUH!?"

All at once, our mouths fell open at their words.

Andy shook his head. "Sorry, especially for the late notice. But there's something going on that's more important than the tournament. We don't have time to worry about it when the world could be in danger."

"…" Those words reminded me of something my sister had told me. "Alright, I get it."

Jumon nodded. "Thanks and good luck to you all. Since we forfeited, you guys were moved up the bracket by default. You guys have one match before the fight against the Ruler, Victor. Good luck."

We nodded as they walked off.

I let out a sigh. "Oh well, I guess we only have one more match to go before we get to fight Victor."

Shiri nodded. "Yeah... Let's just hurry and get this over with."

"I agree..." Neptune added. "C'mon! Let's blow this pina colada stand!"

I rolled my eyes as she ran ahead, eager to fight our last opponents. Without anything better to do, Shiri and I chased after her.

As we made it to the center, we saw our opponents.

Standing a few feet away were Angel and Brindle.


	35. Chapter 33

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 33]**

Brindle and Angel stood ready and eager to fight.

The three of us met them at the center of the arena. "Well, you guys made it to the finals, huh?"

Angel shrugged. "Honestly, we weren't really expecting this. I thought we would have more time when you guys fought the four faction leaders. But, I guess that's not happening..."

Neptune smiled. "Still, it's exciting that we get to fight you two to see who'll get to fight the Ruler!"

Brindle nodded. "Yeah. But that also means that this is the last round that will decide who could possibly have their wish come true..."

"It is..." I returned her nod. "And, knowing that, we're not going to go easy on you."

"Same here," Angel said.

I looked back at Shiri and Neptune. The two of them were more than ready. Letting out a sigh, I turned back to face our two opponents. "Then good luck to you two..."

"Same for you," Brindle said.

Harez floated down to us. "Remember, lads! Rules here are the same as the individual matches, except with teams. If one team is unable to continue or forfeits, the opposing team wins. Any questions?"

We all shook our heads, letting a wide grin creep onto Harez's face. "Alright! Then let's get this final match out of the way!"

The stadium began shaking as the crowds thundered with cheers. Harez floated away. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THIS WILL BE THE FINAL FIGHT THAT WILL DETERMINE WHO WILL GET TO FIGHT OUR RULER! THIS IS IT, FOLKS!"

I let out a deep breath, cranking my Limiter up to its fourth level and calling upon the energy that was stored in me.

It's power flowed through my body as I took out my energy sword. _This is it..._

"BEGIN!"

*Boom!*

Just as the arena began to change into a new environment, Angel rushed towards Shiri while Brindle charged towards us, her body erupted into flames.

Quickly, I rushed to Shiri and parried Angel's strike just before his blade hit Shiri.

Shiri, now open, pulsed at the ground, causing an earth barrier to appear just in front of Brindle.

Brindle quickly backed away and grouped together with Angel. We did the same.

We took the moment to take in our surroundings. Nothing special. It was just a random city street.

I looked over at my two teammates. "What do you say? Wanna just go all out from the start or just build it up?"

Shiri shook her head. "That's a bad decision. They're probably going to take this seriously because it's the final match. We should go all out right now."

I gave a nod. "I got it... Then you should activate your ability, too. Neptune, make sure every warp you do is thought about from this point forward."

Neptune gave a quick salute, putting away her dual swords and pulling out her pistol. "Roger dodger!"

Shiri's body began to radiate a golden aura, her eyes turning to a glowing blue.

I tightened the grip on my blade and turned to face Angel and Brindle again. They were both already prepared, waiting for us to strike.

I stared them down. "Let's go with formation one."

Without any more words, I charged towards the two of them, pulsing lightning out.

*Bang!*

The two of them came at me from both sides, slashing at me.

Rolling out of the way, Shiri's ring of elements now surrounded the two of them. It snapped towards the center to them.

However, as Angel was cloaked in a dark substance, Brindle's body erupted into flames, burning away the ring of elements around them.

Just as Brindle's flames dispelled, Neptune suddenly warped in front of her and fired her gun from point-blank range.

Abruptly, Angel appeared in front of Neptune, taking all of the bullets right to his chest. A crimson aura began to radiate from him. Though, he didn't seem in pain. He then performed a quick slash at Neptune.

She quickly warped away just before the blade made contact with her.

*Clang!*

Suddenly, I found Brindle's blades coming down towards me. Reactively, I parried them before jumping away.

The two of them regrouped again.

I shook my head. "We have to hurry. I'm pretty sure if this drags on for too long, that they'll win because they saw a flaw in our attacks."

"That's bogus," Neptune frowned. "Anyways, which formation do we use now?"

I sighed. "Formation four. After that, we'll just constantly barrage them with attacks. If that fails, we'll probably lose."

Shiri shook her head. "We'll be fine. We just have to outlast them."

I tightly gripped my blade with both of my trembling hands. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah..."

I swallowed hard. "Alright..."

Letting out a deep breath, I cranked the Limiter up to it's highest level. Instantly, I felt my body tighten up and squeeze itself. Gritting my teeth, I struggled to keep the Limiter stable.

 _Hey, voice in my head, can you crank your output to its max?_

 _ **Of course. Don't worry.**_

I felt more power surge through my body as it began to relax a bit. Though it still felt strained.

"I've got about five minutes with this thing," I told the two of them. "We've gotta hurry."

They nodded as I took a stance, trying my best to regulate my breathing. "… Go!"

*BANG!*

Time seemed to slow down around me as I dashed forwards. Angel suddenly appeared in my way, swinging at me.

*Clang!*

His movements were much slower now.

I parried his strike, managing to rip his blade away from him, and stabbed it into him, pinning him to the ground.

I then dashed towards Brindle.

*Sk!*

Just as my blade made contact with her clothes, she managed to jump away. As she did, a gigantic ring appeared high in the sky. Suddenly, thousands of blades began raining down upon us.

"…!"

*Bang!*

As I struggled to dodge and knock the blades away, Angel appeared in front of me again as a blade struck him at his side. Though, that only seemed to make his aura radiate even more.

*Clang!*

Even though he was now faster, I still managed to parry his strike and avoid another few blades, stabbing and pinning Angel into the ground. I was just wondering how he got his blade out the first time.

*FSHHH!*

Just as I regained my footing, I watched as another ring appeared just below the gigantic blade ring. I watched as the blades were set ablaze as they passed the second ring.

I let out a sigh. "That's great..."

While the street was slowly set ablaze, Brindle suddenly appeared in front of me and slashed.

*Shk!*

"G-Gh!"

Just as I parried her dual swords, one of the blades managed to hit me at my side, creating a burning sensation of pain.

Brindle then took the moment and kicked me to the ground, following up by stabbing both of her blades into my arms.

*Shk!*

Another blade stabbed into my gut as I was pinned to the ground by Brindle's swords. Pain exploded in my body as I felt my energy slowly leaving, the tightening pain returning to break my body.

She looked down at me, flames licking at her fingertips. "Sorry, Sigi. You lose..."

*Bang!*

Just before she blasted me with her flames, a bullet hit her at her side, causing her to stagger back. Following that, several blasts of energy struck the circles that cast the flaming blade, shattering them both and stopping the blade storm.

I suddenly gasped for air as the blades were suddenly pulled from my body. I then appeared somewhere different. Looking up, I found that Neptune had warped me away to Shiri, who was now doing her best to heal my body.

Some of my strength had returned to me as I stood back up. I looked over at Shiri and Neptune, giving my best smile. "Thanks."

"It's okay, but I'm not really worried about that right now," Shiri nodded towards Brindle. "I'm worried about her."

"Yeah..." I looked over at her. Angel laid beside her, the dark substance gone from his body. "We've already taken care of Angel. All that's left is to take care of Brindle."

"Sigi, turn off your Limiter," Shiri instructed. "I've got a plan. Plus, your five minutes are about up anyways."

I gave a nod and set the Limiter back to its default. I felt a good amount of the tension leave my body and let out a sigh. "What exactly is your plan here?"

Shiri smiled. "You were on the offensive just now. Though, it seems to put too much strain on you. Now I'll go on the offensive while you and Neptune support. If you see a chance to strike, go for it. Got it?"

I gave a nod. "Yeah."

Shiri then turned back to face Brindle. "Go with formation two."

We nodded as elements surrounded Shiri and engulfed her.

*Bang!*

Shiri then began firing various bolts of elements aimed at Brindle. However, Brindle was able to knock them all away.

*Shk!*

While Brindle busied herself on Shiri's attacks, Neptune fired away at Brindle, warping to several spots. But that didn't stop her as she managed to dodge the bullets and still deflect Shiri's bolts of elements.

The two of them continued firing at Brindle. I lunged forward and slashed at the back of her head.

*CRASH!*

Just as my blade created a slit of blood on the back of her neck, Brindle's body projected a barrier, exploding as I touched her skin, blowing me away and crashing me into the side of a building.

"…!"

*Boom!*

As I pulled myself out, I was met by Brindle blades coming right at my face. Quickly, I jumped away, rolling to the ground.

*Shk!*

While she was pulling her blades out, I lunged forward and drove my blade into her, pinning her to the wall.

*BOOM!*

Jumping away, Shiri fired several blasts of energy at her. The building blew up upon impact and the arena suddenly turned back to normal. I collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.

Brindle fell to the floor, a pool of blood trickling from her body. Harez then floated down and checked both Angel and Brindle for their pulses. He looked over at us, grinning. "Congratulations! Y'all won the final brackets! Ye get to fight the Ruler."

As grins appeared on our faces, Harez cleared his throat. "THE WINNERS OF THE FINAL ROUND ARE SHIRI, SIGI, AND NEPTUNE! THEY SHALL BE THE ONES TO FIGHT THE RULER!"

Cheers roared from the stadium as we smiled at one another.

Harez floated down to us while people came to take Angel and Brindle away. "Like I said, you have a week to prepare for the fight against the Ruler. Until the final match, school is done for the year. Y'all be allowed to leave campus but, once the final match takes place, school will resume."

We all nodded as Harez floated off. I turned to Neptune and Shiri. "So, what do you say we all head off to Jewel's place to celebrate?"

They both smiled. "Sure!"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, the story's almost over... OR IS IT!?  
Yes, it's actually about over. But, there's still a lot more to cover in the last few chapters.  
But the reason I made this Author's Note was mainly just to tell all of you that read the story that school starts Wednesday for me. Now, while chapters will continue on with the same schedule, I may end up being a bit late on uploading.  
On the bright side, once school does start, I'll start getting a bit more serious about my writing again and see how efficiently I can get the OC stories done. But, until then, enjoy the rest of the story!**


	36. Chapter 34

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 34]**

A few days had passed since we had won the final match. Luna had followed Neptune, Shiri and I as we had made our way to Jewel's place to rest.

After a few days, Angel and Brindle came to visit us at Jewel's place. Soon after, Uzume started coming, then Plutia, Noire, Vert, and Blanc. Basically, it was like holiday break at Jewel's place again.

We all sat in her living room, chatting and eating while the TV blared in the background.

"Oh, look!" Neptune pointed towards the TV screen. "Sigi, they're doing that singing thing!"

"Hm?" I paused my conversation with my sister for a moment and looked at the screen. "Oh, they are."

The screen displayed Rouge's city square, right at the fountain.

Usually, a few days after every final round of the tournament, a group of people would gather at the square to sing, congratulating all the participants and wishing the best of luck to the final participants.

We all stared at the screen that displayed the city square as people were gathering right below the fountain.

"Wait, when do they start singing?" Brindle asked.

I pointed to the fountain. Currently, the projection of the Ruler wasn't there. "Well, they turn off the Ruler's projection. Basically, once they turn it on, they'll start singing and such."

"W-Wait..."

All of our eyes had turned to the TV screen. Not because we wanted to watch them sing, but what was on it. The projection of the Ruler had come on, but there was no singing. Not this year. Instead, a dead silence had fallen over the square.

And the projection wasn't of Victor.

It was of the Second Ruler, Shiri's mom. She was the person who was assumed dead. And, since the projection displayed the current Ruler...

I looked over at Shiri. Her face was a ghostly pale. "…"

Luna and I exchanged a look, gulping.

Shiri then stood up, hurriedly making her way to the door.

Jewel watched her with concern. "Shiri, where are you going?"

"The square," Shiri answered quickly before dashing out the door.

"Sigi, we have to follow her," Luna said.

I gave a nod. "Yeah, I know. This isn't going to end well."

*BOOM!*

We spun our heads back to the TV to find that the square had been destroyed while we were turned away. In its place was a giant crater, everything that had been there before had been destroyed, gone from existence.

And standing at the center of the crater were three people. The person that seemed to be acting as the leader wore a mask, a woman.

She took the mask off, revealing her face to be of the Second Ruler's.

"Sigi..." Forcing my eyes off the TV, I stared into Luna's face. "It's like what mom and dad said..."

"…" I looked back at the TV then at her. Luna was the last bit of family I had.

"…!" Freeing myself from my sister's grip, I dashed out the door after Shiri.

"S-Sigi!"

I didn't let any of their cries stop me. I continued running at full speed to the city square.

The Second Ruler, Shiri's mother, was there.

I knew Shiri was strong, but she wouldn't win against the three of them. What would she even do when she got there?

Questions filled my head as I made it out of the complex and began pushing my way through the crowded streets to get to the city square.

Shiri was right that her mother was still alive, but—even if I didn't know the Second Ruler personally—I knew that this was something that wouldn't end well.

Shiri would die if she went in alone.

* * *

 **[Third Person]**

"…" The woman scanned the area around. Besides the crater that she and her lackeys had put in the town square, there weren't any real differences in the city since the last time she had been there. "Strange, I really thought they would've remodeled this place. Hades, I thought you said you'd make this place look different..."

Hades had his hands jammed in his pockets. "Sorry, didn't get the time to do it. You know how it is to rule a nation, Grim."

The woman just shook her head. "I don't want to hear your petty excuses. After all, I came back for a reason. Fang, you know what to do."

"Yeah, yeah..." Rolling his eyes, one of the two lackeys pulled out a thin vial filled with black sludge. "It's a shame that all of this was already gone from Hyper Dimension and those other dimensions we visited."

"No, it was strange," Grim said. "That substance isn't supposed to disappear. And yet, it still did. The only way you could make it disappear was by absorbing it. But, even then, your body wouldn't be able to handle it and it would just return."

Fang shrugged. "Doesn't matter. At least we managed to get some. Good job on keeping those preserves in that one room, Hades."

"That room wasn't just meant as a storage room," Hades said. "You know what it was used for."

"I'm gonna pretend I still don't," Fang muttered.

"Enough," Grim's voice was sharp and stern, glaring at Fang with her cold eyes. "Pour it. We have to start before _they_ catch up."

"She's right," Hades admitted. "They've been a real bother and I'm afraid this is the end of the road. It's now or never."

"Yeah, you're right," Fang let out a sigh. He popped the cork off the thin vial. "Well, I guess it's—"

"MOM!"

"You..." Grim's attention turned to the person that had appeared at the edge of the crater—the person who had called her mother. "I know you... You're that Sensos brat, aren't you?"

Shiri, struggling to catch her breath, watched the woman she called mother. "W-Wha...? Mom, it's me, your daughter. Do you not remember me?"

Fang shook his head. "Poor brat... You must have this person confused for someone else. This is Grim, the Second Ruler of Rouge. She's here to make all of your nightmares a reality."

"N-No..." Shiri shook her head. "THAT'S A LIE! MY MOTHER'S NAME WAS SCARLET AND SHE WAS THE REAL SECOND RULER! YOU'VE BRAINWASHED HER! GIVE HER BACK!"

"Brainwashed, eh?" Grim let out a chuckle. "Really, you must have hit your head, you brat."

"MOM, STOP TALKING LIKE THAT!" Shiri shouted her pleads. "COME BACK TO YOUR SENSES, PLEASE!"

"I just got here and I've already had enough of this stupidity..." Grim—Shiri's mother—raised her hand at her. A crimson aura radiated from her. "If I really am your mother, I'll take the responsibility of killing you myself. How does that sound, daughter?"

"N-No..." Shiri's legs became weak and she crumpled to her knees. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. "M-Mom... W-Why...?"

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

Somehow, I had made it just in the nick of time as I forced the power out of me and set my Limiter to it's highest level. "SHIRI!"

*BOOM!*

Jumping in front of Shiri, I burst out lightning from my body, creating a barrier of lightning.

The blast slammed into the barrier, shattering it and blowing us both away. Somehow, I was able to recover midair and caught Shiri, landing on my feet before setting her down.

"S-Sigi...?" Shiri stared at me, dumbfounded. "W-Why are you here...?"

I smiled at her. "Isn't it obvious? It's because you ran off, you dummy."

"Sigi..." Shiri's face had disappointment written all over it. "T-That's my mom... O-Over there..."

"Your mom?" I hadn't looked yet. "But she just tried to kill you!"

"I know, but that's her," Shiri said. "I don't know what's wrong with her though!"

I bit my lip. As I glanced up. Instantly I saw Victor. "So he's in on this as well... No wonder he's the Third Ruler..."

The person in front was the person who Shiri claimed was her mother.

Her skin was fair, she had amber red eyes and long robes that matched her hair color. Along with that, she wore a pair of black, steel gauntlets and matching leather roper boots.

Honestly, she just looked like an older version of Shiri with red hair. I could see the resemblance.

There was also another person other than Victor and Shiri's mom. This was a person who I hadn't seen before.

His skin was a ghostly pale with blood red eyes and matching short hair that was spiked up. On his left cheek was a jagged scar.

He appeared well equipped with his armor, wearing a plated steel breastplate, arm guards and boots along with chainmail underneath. Over it all, he wore a torn crimson cloak.

Besides the vial he held in one hand, his other hand held onto his long sword. It was a black sword with a crimson edge, with a Devil-shaped mark carved into the guard.

The person standing in the front—Shiri's mother—stared at me with hollowed eyes. "You... Even though I don't know you, something about you feels familiar... Tell me, who are you?"

"That's Sigi Aurum, Grim," Victor told.

"Ah, now I know," Grim—Shiri's mom—said. "You must be the son of that man I fought. Silver Aurum, I'm pretty sure that was that man's name..."

"What do you know about my dad!?" I shouted.

"It won't matter soon," Grim said. "But, I do know that his son will be dead soon."

Grim looked over at Victor. "Hades, would you like me to send your students to your storage room or just kill them."

Victor—Hades—chuckled. "Actually, I was supposed to fight these two later this week. But, I wouldn't mind if you killed them now. It'll just ensure that I stay the Ruler."

"Just remember that this was your decision, not mine," Grim then turned to face the man. "Fang, pour while I end them. We've had enough distractions as it is."

The third man, Fang, nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

*Crack!*

Just as Fang began to tip over the vial in his hand, a shot of ice suddenly turned his hand—along with the vial—to ice.

"What the hell!?" Fang spun to the direction it had come from. Sitting atop a small building was Yami. "Great, another brat!"

"Y-Yami..." Shiri and I stared up at him. Though, I was wondering why he was here.

"I don't know what that sludge of yours is, but I would appreciate it if you didn't spill it there," Yami stood up, his eyes turning to it's chilling blue. "Or is it that your trying to make me mad?"

"Didn't expect to see you here..." Victor watched Yami. "I don't know why you're here, but I suggest taking those two with you and leaving us alone."

"You must be more of I fool than I thought," Yami spat at Victor. "I'm here to do something I should've done a long time ago. Oh, and in case you didn't realize, our agreement is off. You must've been really dumb if you thought I'd agree to something like that."

"Such a shame," Victor shook his head. "I could have made you great."

Yami's glared at Victor, gritting his teeth. "No, you're what's plaguing the world."

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Grim glared at Victor and Fang. "Hades, help me end these idiots! Fang, focus on freeing your hand so that we can pour the vial."

They both nodded. "Roger."

Yami hopped down to where Shiri and I were. "Well, look who it is..."

"Yami..." I couldn't hide the confusion written on my face. "Why are you here?"

He smirked. "During our fight, I learned something. You taught me how change existed. Change was the thing I overlooked before judging the world. And change is what can either destroy or make the world better."

I smiled. "Yeah..."

"Now," he turned to face the three at the crater's center. "We have to defeat these three here or the world might be doomed."

"Yeah," I spun to look back at Shiri. "Shiri, do you think you can do this?"

She let out a deep breath, opening her eyes to reveal her now glowing blue eyes. The golden aura began to emit from her. "I'll do it. If we try hard enough, I think I can get my mother back."

Nodding, I pulled out my energy sword. I only had four minutes left before my body would break from the strain. "It's now or never."

"SIGI!"

Turning around, we saw Neptune, Luna and everyone else coming towards us. Neptune was the first to make it. "What were you thinking!? You could've died before we showed up! We don't have any 1-Up Mushrooms!"

I shook my head and quickly turned to Luna. "Luna, those people know our parents."

"R-Really?!" Luna stared at me, unable to believe the words coming from my mouth.

"Yeah, and the one with the red hair is also Shiri's mom," I explained. "I don't know what's wrong with her but she doesn't seem to be acting like herself."

"Then we'll knock the sense back into her!" Neptune said. "If you hit a TV hard enough, it'll come back on eventually!"

I shook my head. "That's not the same..."

"Wait, why's Yami here?" Brindle asked.

I smiled. "He's here to help."

Angel smirked. "Good, we can use all the help we can get."

I gave a nod and pointed to Victor. "I'm guessing Shiri's mom is the strongest. So, Vert, Blanc, Noire, Uzume and Plutia, you all take on Victor. I think your abilities are unique enough to allow you to win."

They nodded, drawing their weapons and moving to position. I then turned to Brindle and Angel, pointing to Fang. "You two take him on. I don't know how tough he is, but I think you two might be able to take him on. Plus, he can only use one arm right now."

They nodded and also positioned themselves.

I turned to Luna. "Sis, you're going to help Yami, Shiri, and I take on the Second Ruler. Do you think you can handle that?"

Luna gave a firm nod. "Yeah."

"Alright," We all stepped up to face her, readying ourselves.

"You people really are foolish," Grim shook her head. "Actually, we had another few fools challenge us earlier. Would you like to know what happened to them?"

Everything suddenly fell into place. "You don't mean..."

Grim snapped her fingers. A small bubble appeared over her. Unconscious and trapped in that bubble were the four faction leaders.

"No way..." I gritted my teeth.

"Do you really want to do this?" Grim asked once again, making the bubble disappear. "I could end all of your lives in under a minute. You could just walk away and mind your own business..."

I shook my head. "No, if we don't stop you here, the world will be doomed!"

Grim just shook her head. "All of you people really are fools. Hades, you know what to do."

"Yeah," Victor gave a nod. Blue flames then began emitting from his body. He swept his hand.

*FSSSHHHH!*

Blue flames rose over us and trapped us in its high flames. Slowly, I felt my strength leave my body, sapping away at my energy. "W-What the...?"

As I collapsed, so did everyone else. Somehow, the flames were sapping us of our strength.

*Clang!*

Suddenly, cages rose from the ground. Before we had time to try to react, the cages each pulled us in, binding our movements while the flames continued to sap away our energy.

The flames lowered, allowing us to see Grim. "I gave you all a warning and a chance to turn away. Now, I'll make sure wretches like you remember not to defy me..."

Blood began to flow down Grim's now black sclera's as a black aura was cast around her. The area shook violently as dark energy was built up at her hand. "It's over..."

*BOOM!*

I squeezed my eyes shut as the blast sped towards us. Even though I had been through so much, it really was pointless in the end...

"…"

I had accepted my death, but I hadn't felt anything hit me. I then opened my eyes. "N-No..."

"You've really grown, Sigi," he smiled at me, as he helped free me from the cage, dispelling the blue flames. "Let me handle things from here on out, alright?"

Tears blurred my vision. But I didn't need to see clearly to know who had saved me. "D-Dad..."

My father smiled at me as everyone was freed from their cages. "It's been a while. Don't worry, I'll handle it from here. Later, we can catch up."

I stared at my father as he turned his back on me and made his way with two other men towards Grim and her lackies.

I smiled. "Yeah..."

* * *

 **[Third Person]**

Grim shot glares at the three men, the ones who had constantly chased her around. They wore their usual stupid getup.

The father to the kid, Silver, still had his black hair that partially covered his emerald green eyes.

He wore his black hooded cloak with a gray placket shirt underneath. His black jeans wore torn while his brown utility belt kept it tightened and also stored various knives. Finally, he had black, leather fingerless gloves and crimson combat boots.

The crimson-haired man with a combover had scarlet red eyes and pale skin.

He wore a red, black-accented hoodie jacket that clung to his body, a crimson cloak over the jacket. He wore black leather gauntlets, matching ripped skinny jeans and combat boots like the other man. Though, he wore a snowflake necklace.

The final man had hair like Silver's, except that his hair color was silver, covering parts of his amber eyes. However, it didn't cover the jagged scar on his left cheek.

Simply, he wore a black muscle shirt, tattered blue jeans and a pair of black combat boots. Along with that, he wore a silver chain bracelet on his wrist.

These were the people that had been bothering Grim throughout her travels and she had grown tired of them.

Silver smiled. "Well, looks like we found you again. Seems that it's becoming easier to track you down."

"You have good timing," Grim said. "I was just about to end your son's life, Silver Aurum..."

Silver's expression turned serious, eyes becoming crimson. "Yeah, I know. You really think I'll forgive you for that?"

"Don't worry, you'll join him," Grim said.

Silver turned to the red-haired man beside him. "Hikan, I already called dibs on the chick with your hair. You can have a party with one of the dudes. Which one do you want?"

Hikan shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. As long as I can finally beat their faces in."

Silver shrugged before turning to the other man. "Tolise? What about you?"

Tolise grinned widely. "I actually want to fight the armored dude. Hikan, you can get the dude with the blue flames. It seems fitting for you to fight him."

Hikan rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

*Ching!*

As Tolise's eyes turned crimson like Silver's, a white light enveloped Hikan as he turned to a more muscular version with a new appearance.

His hair had become spiked with flames licking at the tips of each strand. He now wore black, plated armor over a red suit underneath. From his back were a pair of flaming dragon-like wings.

The three of them each produced their own katanas, Hikan's emitting flames.

"Alright, I'm ready to end this!" Silver took a stance. "We're going to finish this here and now!"

Grim smirked. "I can agree to that. All of you will die here!"

*Bang!*


	37. Chapter 35

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 35]**

 **[Silver]**

*Bang!*

I lunged towards Grim, slowing time. As usual, she was insanely fast.

Appearing in front of her, I slashed down at her, only to be countered as she stepped out of the way and kicked me away.

Regaining my balance, I slammed my blade into the ground to help stable myself. "…!"

*CRASH!*

Looking up, I found her in front of me. I increased my Devils' power to Level Three, further slowing down time and allowing me to barely dodge her blast.

I repositioned myself, a grin coming to my face. "Even though I know I should be taking this seriously, I just want to enjoy this for a bit because all I've been doing is chasing you! I want to relish this."

"And I want you dead at my feet," Grim responded. "You've just been an annoying pest! Guess we all can't have what we want, huh?"

 _Can't you try a bit harder? This is going to drag on if we continue like this._

 _"Hey, give me a break. I haven't fought her in so long. I've only fought her twice and the rest was just us chasing her around."_

 _Whatever. You better let me out though._

I let out a dry laugh. " _I might have to..."_

I sucked in a deep breath and steeled myself. "Alright..."

I lunged towards Grim again, amplifying my speed just before she raised her hand. "…!"

*Clang!*

Catching her off guard, I appeared in front of her and slashed up at her face.

Somehow, she managed to jerk her head back, only receiving a sliver of blood to her chin. She then formed a sword in her hand and knocked my katana away as she swung at me.

As I quickly materialized a pair of knives, I parried her strike and stabbed them into her sides. While she tried to recover from the pain, I filled my fist my energy and smashed it into her face, blowing her back.

She crashed into a building as I let out a laugh. "Oh, this feels so good to do!"

 _Easy there. I get a turn, remember?_

 _"I know. You'll get your turn soon. After all, she hasn't gotten serious yet."_

 _At least you're smart enough to understand that..._

*BOOM!*

As I snapped back to reality, the building Grim had crashed into exploded into rubble. From the wreckage, Grim pulled herself out, looking only slightly injured. Though, she did look pissed.

I smiled. "I guess we can keep this going for a little while longer."

I let out another deep breath as I let my Devils' power flow through my body. Their red energy flowed from my body and created armor, forming a pair of wings. I materialized a sword as I faced Grim, who was somehow still holding her sword. "Round two!"

*BOOM!*

I Blinked forward and thrust my sword at her body.

However, she managed to read it and counter, locking my blade to the ground and head butting me to the ground.

Before I even recovered, she picked me up by my collar and flew high into the sky. As hard as she could, Grim threw me down to the earth.

Rocketing down, I smashed into the ground. Luckily, the pain wasn't that bad due to my armor.

I let out a sigh as I pulled myself out. "Screw it..."

I let the Light's power flow into my body, combining with my Devils' energy. Golden light poured from my body and combined with my Devils' armor as I materialized it's long sword. The golden energy sparked and crackled from the sword.

"Starting to finally get serious, are you?" Grim floated back down in front of me. "In that case, I'll do the same."

I watched as Grim's white sclera's turned black and blood oozed from her eyelids. A fiery black aura cloaked her body now.

I smiled. "You never showed this off before. Are you actually taking this match seriously?"

"Of course," Grim smirked. "Because I'll finally be rid of you after this battle. To make it better, your son will watch as I crush your bones and listen to your agonizing scream!"

"You really thought this out, didn't you?" I asked.

"What can I say?" She continued wearing her smirk. "After being chased around for so long by you, I've started fantasizing your death!"

"Well, I can't promise I'll let you kill me..." I raised my sword. "But you can try."

*Boom!*

As I had raised my sword, Grim had charged up a blast and fired it at me.

While it sped towards me, I managed to raise a barrier and block it. Lowering it, I was met by the sight of several gigantic blades coming down towards me.

Using as much of my power as I could, I slammed my blade against the multiple gigantic ones, doing my best to keep them at bay while I was slowly being driven further and further into the ground.

"…!"

*BOOM!*

Just as I started pushing them back, I was met by another blast. As I moved my blade and knocked it away, the two swords came down.

"… Haaa..." I looked up. My barrier had been raised just before the blades had struck me. "Nepgear probably wouldn't be happy if I came home as a bloody mess..."

My barrier disappeared as I met eyes with her. "Is it my turn yet?"

Grim just stared at me. "Do your worst."

I smiled. "You don't have to ask me twice!"

*Bang!*

* * *

 **[Hikan]**

*Hsshhhh!*

As our flames danced around each other, canceling each other's out. They blew away and revealed Hades. I let out a breath. "I gotta say, those blue flames of yours are pretty cool."

He chuckled. "And you actually know how to control your flames, unlike others I've fought. Tell me, are you from here?"

I formed a wide grin. "If it's the same place you come from, then definitely not. I come from a place that actually has cool people. I come from a place where I have a family to protect."

"Remain vague if you will, but I'll assume you're from the same place as your friends," Hades said. "Come, let us end this battle."

I smiled. "I was just thinking the same thing!"

*FSHHH!*

I burst towards Hades. Just before I could cut him, he raised a wall of flames in front of me.

I jerked my body away just before I touched the flames, barely escaping them. Recovering, I dashed towards him and slashed at him from behind. As he dodged, I managed to leave a cut on his clothes.

"Crash!*

Landing on my feet, I jumped back and managed to avoid a blast of Hades' blue flames, exploding as it hit the ground.

I regained my footing and stared at him. "You really are stronger than you look, you know that?"

Hades smirked. "I'm not even trying yet!"

A grin grew on my face. "That makes two of us."

"Oh?" Hades' smirk remained. "Then how about we both go all out! If you show me your power, I'll show you mine!"

I shrugged. "Nah, I think I can beat you using only half. I'll show you that though."

"Fine, then I'll do the same," Victor said. "Now, let me see this power of yours!"

"You asked for it," I let out a sigh, letting the flames rise up in my body.

*FSSSHHH!*

Fire escaped my body, enveloping me and taking form in a dragon.

"Now, isn't that funny," Hades seemed amused for some reason. "Seeing that just gives me more of a reason to show mine!"

Hades' blue fire burst from his body, wrapping and taking the form of a blue dragon around his body.

"Ah," I stared at his dragon. "Now isn't that funny..."

"We both can control flames, but I wonder which of us is better?" Through the blue flames, I saw Hades let out a laugh. "Come! Let us fight!"

Slowly, a grin crossed my face. "Even though I hate that your abilities are similar to mine, I'll admit that it does make things more interesting!"

As my last words were spoken, we lunged towards each other.

*BOOM!*

* * *

 **[Tolise]**

*Clang!*

"…!" I hopped back, avoiding Fang's strike as I switched my stance and lunged towards him.

As I slashed at his head, he managed to parry the strike and lock my blade to the ground. Before I could free it, Fang smashed his head against mine.

I endured the pounding pain at my skull and freed my blade, amplifying my strength and slashing up at him.

However, he managed to hop away before the blade could touch him. A grin was on his face. But I had managed to vaporize the frozen vial.

Fang howled out with laughter. "You've lasted longer than the others I've fought before! I'll give you credit for that!"

"And you've been the only challenge I've had in years," I responded. "I'll give you credit for that, too."

"Tell me, how would you like to see my real strength?" Fang questioned.

"I say do it before I decide to kill you out of plain boredom," I snapped back, raising my blade at him. "Unless that's what you want..."

Fang shook his head. "Of course not. No, I'd rather have both of us fight at our full potentials."

I smirked. "You're really asking to die, you know that?"

"We won't know unless we try, right?" Fang said. "Now, come on."

I shrugged. "It's your funeral..."

My Devil's energy began flowing through my body, pulsing. Slowly, the energy took form in a silver, lightning armor, cloaking my body as I felt the power surge through it.

As the lightning crackled, I let the power run through my katana, pulsing the silver lightning into it.

I then faced Fang again. "So, what do you think?"

He formed a wide grin. "It's pretty impressive... Now, it's my turn!"

*SHK!*

"G-Gh!"

"…!"

I watched in horror as Fang impaled himself at his gut with his own sword. Blood oozed as he forced the blade out, gasping for air. However, a grin slowly came across his face as his body began to radiate an aura of the same bloody color.

He then looked back up at me, licking his lips. "AHAHAHA! YOU'LL DIE HERE AND I'LL GET TO TASTE YOUR DELICIOUS BLOOD!"

Even though he had inflicted himself, he seemed fine. In fact, the pain seemed to have made him stronger, literally.

I smiled. "In your dreams. The only blood that'll be spilled will be yours!"

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT, BOY!" A glint of bloodlust shined in Fang's eyes. It reminded me of Silver when he was fully in Level Three or let Darkness take over.

"You'll die here!"

We both sped towards each other.

*Bang!*


	38. Chapter 36

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 36]**

 **[Silver]**

*SHK!*

I Blinked behind Grim and stabbed her into the ground. Before I pulled my blade out of her, I materialized several rings, snapping onto Grim's body and locking her down.

I let my sword disappear as she struggled to escape. "It's over."

"N-Ngh!" She glared at me through her bloody eyes. "Hades! Fang!"

*BOOM!*

As if by her words, I turned to see that Tolise had smashed Fang to the ground while Hikan's fire dragon slammed into Victor, driving him through several buildings before crashing through the ground.

I smiled as I turned back to Grim. "Well, I'd like to say we won. That is, for now."

She smiled. "So, you really do have a brain in their, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm smart enough to figure that out," I leaned over and got closer to her. "I also know who you REALLY are, Scarlet. You're just using Scarlet's body because she's a suitable vessel, isn't that right, you poser?"

She snarled at me. "You... How do you know that?"

My smile remained. "I don't know, I just have a feeling. Now, you can either leave her body alone and disappear. Or, you could die by my hands."

"You've got to be joking!" She let out a laugh. "If you know me that well, then you should know that I'm not going to surrender!"

"…!"

Her body suddenly turned to a dark wisp, freeing itself of my rings before turning back into Scarlet's form. "Don't think this is over. I'll be back soon!"

Suddenly, she warped over to Hades and Fang, snatching them up before appearing on top of a building. "But first, a parting gift!"

*BOOM!*

A sphere of blood red energy formed in front of her. As she shot it out, it scattered and took aim on the entire area.

While Hikan and Tolise busied themselves with protecting the citizens, I quickly headed over to the ones by Sigi, forming a barrier around him and his friends. The blasts stuck to the barrier for a second before exploding.

I lowered the barrier and let out a sigh as Tolise and Hikan regrouped with us. "She really isn't kidding..."

"Hey, behind you!"

"…!" Turning around, I saw a gigantic blast speeding towards us.

*Bang!*

Before I could react, a slash was suddenly made down the center of it, blowing it up as I just managed to create another barrier.

As the explosion subsided, I waited a few seconds for another one. Sure that another blast of energy wasn't going to come, I finally lowered the barrier. "Damn, let my guard down."

Hikan chuckled. "I think you should be more worried about a certain someone who just saved your ass..."

"Huh?" I turned to him. "What do you mean?"

Tolise smiled and nodded up towards where the blast had been. A thick cloud of smoke loomed there. "Can you see who's there?"

Doing as he instructed, I looked up, past the smoke. Emerging from it was Nepgear, my wife. I smiled. "That, is why I married her..."

She floated down, the white light bathing her as she returned to her normal form and threw her arms around me. "Don't scare me like that again! Are you alright?"

I smiled and placed a soft kiss on her forehead to reassure her. "Thanks to you, yeah. Now, don't you want to see your kids?"

"G-Goodness, I almost forgot!" Nepgear pulled away and straightened up. "D-Do I look presentable?"

I simply just laughed. "Always."

Tolise whispered into my ear. "Aren't you worried that she almost forgot about her kids?"

I shrugged. "You know her. Anyways, let's just have a happy and touching moment."

Hikan shook his head. "Now you're starting to sound like Neptune..."

I put a finger to his lip. "I said be quiet!"

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

We had all watched the battle, amazed at how they had fought Scarlet and her lackeys with such ease. After Scarlet had left her parting gift, the final blast had been destroyed by someone, a woman.

She had flown down from the sky and was now talking to my father.

I turned to Luna. "H-Hey, do you think that's our mom?"

Luna peered over at the woman, slowly forming a smile. "I think so. She kinda looks like that woman we saw in our family picture."

"Hmm..." I stared at her while she talked with my father.

Like Luna, she had fair skin and matching eyes. Though, her long hair was a lilac color and tied into a high ponytail.

She wore a white trench coat dress, pink running along the hem. The only other thing she seemed to wear were white snow boots along with tall white and pink striped socks that stretched up to her thighs.

My attention turned back to her face. In a way, she looked like an older Luna, so I could see how she could be our mother. Also, she really did look like the person from our family picture.

Even though I had spent the first few years of my life with them, they had been too much of a blur to remember.

She then stepped away from our father and timidly made her way towards us. She smiled warmly at me. "S-Sigi, do you remember me...?"

I shook my head. I wasn't about to just make an assumption and say that she was my mom based on her appearance. For all I knew, she could be a family friendly drug dealer, even if that was a bit of an exaggeration.

She let out a sigh. "Goodness... It really has been too long. I'm so sorry, Sigi."

Her voice was soft and gentle as she spoke. "Sigi, I'm your mother."

"…" For a moment, I just sat there, letting the words sink in.

"Nice, you managed to break your son," Tolise grinned. "And you just reunited with him..."

My father cut him off. "Enough. I said to let them have their moment, remember?"

"S-Sigi?" My mom peered at my face, caressing my cheek. "Are you okay?"

"…!" That was enough to get me to throw my arms around her and bury my face in her chest. I did my best to try to hide my sobs. "I-I've...missed you both...s-so...much..."

Her hand ran through my hair. "So have we... Sigi, you've grown into a fine, young man. You even look like your father..."

"Y-Yeah..." I could only tremble as she did her best to comfort me.

She shifted her head. "Luna, come here and let me get a good look at you. I only saw you when you were born."

As I pulled away and wiped away my tears with my sleeve, Luna timidly made her way over to our mom. She smiled at Luna as she examined her face. "You really have grown beautiful. Goodness, your eyes are even like mine."

"M-Mom..."

"A-Ah..."

Quietly, Luna wrapped her arms around our mom's neck and rested her head there. Her body trembled as sobs also came from her. "I-I'm...s-so glad...to finally meet you two... T-To know that...S-Sigi and I aren't...alone in this world..."

Our mom smiled warmly as she placed a kiss on Luna's cheek and ran her hand through her hair like how she had done for me. "Don't worry, we're here now..."

"…" I watched Luna for a while longer before turning my attention to my father, who was making his way over to me.

He kneeled down to face me. "Well, you've really grown since you were four, Sigi. Jewel kept me informed about how you always trained because you were determined to get back to us. And look at you now, a strong and fine young man."

"…" I couldn't find the words to respond. Instead, I just nodded and listened to his words.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "She also told me of how you started dating. Really, you truly have grown up."

"…" I stared into his jade green eyes, realizing something. "Dad, did you used to have a buzzcut?"

"Hm?" He seemed taken aback for a moment before grinning. "Yeah, how did you know?"

A smile slowly came to my face. "Just a feeling. Maybe I know more about you than I thought..."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm here now, so you can ask as much as you want..."

"Yeah..." I gave a firm nod. "One day, you have to tell me the story of how you and mom met..."

He stood back up, letting out a laugh. "That, Sigi, can all be described by a simple painting in our house..."

I tilted my head, confused. "A-A painting?"

He shook his head. "You'll understand when I tell you the story. Anyways, as much as I'd like to keep this warm and touching, we have other matters to worry about. Nepgear, time's up."

"Aww..." She pouted as she pulled away from Luna. "But I finally got to meet our daughter..."

He patted her head. "We'll have time later. For now, we have to take care of the problem at hand."

Hikan gave a nod. "Yeah, it's time to clean up this mess. It's gone on for way too long."

"Yeah," Tolise agreed. "It's time to end this."

My father nodded at them before turning to face me. "Sigi, do you at least have a basic understanding as to what's going on?"

I thought for a moment before nodding. "Sort of. Basically, Scarlet, Fang and Hades have come to destroy this world or something, right?"

My father shook his head. "That's barely even scratching the surface of what's going on. We'll explain this to you someplace else. Right now, this is the last place I want to be at right now."

I gave a nod. "Yeah, I agree."

"Actually, does Jewel have a place here?" Tolise asked.

"Yeah, we live with her," Luna confirmed.

My father smiled. "Then lead the way, daughter of mine. It's been so long since I've actually seen her in person."

Luna gave a nod as we all picked ourselves up and followed her towards Jewel's home.

Neptune warped to my side, smiling. "So, you found your parents. Now, what are you going to do?"

I smiled at her, intertwining my hand with her's. "Now, we finish this. After that, I want to live a happy life with you."

Neptune returned my smile. "Me, too..."

* * *

 **[Silver]**

We had made our way to Jewel's place. After spending a bit of time catching up with her, Hikan, Tolise, and I had explained the situation to Sigi and his friends, them explaining their side of the story, also.

Unsurprisingly, a different version of Noire, Blanc, Vert, and Neptune were living in this dimension. But, the Neptune of this dimension was dating my son. Something about that was funny but I liked the idea of it at the same time.

I had been introduced to Sigi and his friends, meeting new people like Brindle, Angel, and Yami. There was even an Uzume and Plutia.

I sat with Hikan, Tolise, and Nepgear. Everyone else either stood around or sat around.

"So, recap," Hikan pointed to Neptune. "Nep, do you wanna recap the situation?"

"Yup, yup, yuppers!" Neptune saluted cheerfully. "So—"

Shiri cut her off. "Neptune, you better take this seriously!"

"Relax your pants! I was going to!" Neptune reassured her. "So, basically, some dark thingy got into Shiri's mom—Scarlet—and she went crazy. After that, Shiri's life was destroyed and she was forced to become the Ruler. But, since she didn't want to, she escaped the people that were going to force her to do it!

"So, people chose Victor—Hades—as the new Ruler. After that, the thing that took over Scarlet began traveling to gather more dark stuff to destroy all of the dimensions. After that, Sigi's dad—Silver—became involved when he met her one day! The Hades Tournament was then formed at around that time also, since our time is much different from where Sigi's dad comes from.

"After that, Silver, Hikan, and Tolise chased around Scarlet and her lackeys while we were busy over here. Sigi and Luna were then sent over here and life continued here. Eventually, after being unable to find any dark stuff anywhere she went, Scarlet was forced to come back here and use what little she had to possibly create more over here. But, Tolise had managed to destroy that vial. That leads us to now, right?"

I smiled at her. "Nice recap. That basically sums everything up til now. Now, Shiri, can you tell me a bit about your mom when you knew her. It doesn't have to be much."

Shiri nodded. "She was a kind person, always caring about those around no matter what. She taught me what I knew and even taught me her ability, the Sensos Spirit. It was a technique passed down by our family. After she was taken over, she lost who she was and became somebody who only wanted to destroy."

I gave a nod. "Do you know if there's any possible way to counter the Sensos Spirit?"

"It's power depends on the nature it can draw," Shiri explained. "But I think that doesn't matter with her. Not only does she have the Ruler's powers, allowing her to do practically anything, but I'm pretty sure she enhanced her Sensos Spirit to also draw from the blood of others."

"I see..." I bit my lip. "Well, it doesn't seem that bad. We should be able to handle it if I let Yami combine with the Light again."

"U-Um, I have a question though," Shiri spoke up. "D-Do you know what took over my mother and what that thing inside her is looking for?"

I turned to a serious expression. "I know all too well. In each dimension, there's Darkness, a culmination of all the negativity in the world. Somehow, that managed to consume your mother. I'm guessing it was because she was a suitable vessel. Now, it wants to consume the world in Darkness, but it can't find the power it needs to do it. That's why it's going to that place you mentioned to me earlier, the Doll Room."

Shiri bowed her head. "I...I want to save her..."

I rested a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get her back to normal. I understand that all of you have suffered and I can help make your dreams a reality..."

Hikan, Tolise, and Nepgear all snapped their attention to me. Hikan watched me carefully. "Don't tell me you're going to do what I think you are..."

I nodded. "I am... None of these people here deserve what happened to them. I'm going to give them what they want. Besides, most of them were like me. They either didn't have a real family or lost someone close to them. That's the whole reason they drove themselves this far and entered the Hades Tournament."

Hikan let out a sigh. "I guess I can't understand. After all, I was never a Spawn..."

I smiled at him before turning to Sigi's group. "Once this is all over, I'll make sure that your hopes come true."

"So, what's the plan now?" Luna asked.

I let out a sigh. "We're going to end this once and for all. We'll save Shiri's mother and end this. If you guys want, you can come, too."

I rose from the couch and looked towards Nepgear. "Do you want to come with us? It's been an awful while since the two of us teamed up."

She smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that!"

Hikan and Tolise rose with her. "Let's get going."

"H-Hey, dad," I turned to face Sigi. "Can I come, too?"

I smiled. "The more the merrier! It's the final battle. So, if any of you guys want to help, then come with us."

As I said those words, Sigi's entire group began making their way over to us. I let out a laugh. "Man, this reminds me of the good old days. Don't you agree, Hikan?"

Hikan chuckled. "Really..."

Without any more to say, we all left Jewel's suite and rushed to where Scarlet was.


	39. Chapter 37

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Chapter 37]**

 **[Sigi]**

My father had led us to the Hades Academy. More specifically, into the BSA room. Standing at the center of the arena were Scarlet, Fang and Victor. In front of them was a giant hole in the floor, leading down to the Doll Room.

Scarlet glared at us when she noticed our arrival. "You... You filthy maggots!"

My father smiled. "So, I guess I was right to assume you'd be here. Pretty rude of you to trash a school, though..."

"We're going to end this here and now," Hikan unsheathed his katana, letting white light bathe him as he transformed.

"…" Scarlet looked over at Victor. "Take care of the brats. Fang, take care of the two boys. I want to kill that man that's been chasing me around. Also, don't hold back. If you do, you'll surely be killed."

My father turned to me and my friends. "You heard the woman. You guys take care of Victor. Hikan and Tolise will handle Fang. Nepgear and I will handle Scarlet. Shiri, are you alright with that?"

"Y-Yeah..." Shiri nodded timidly. "As long as you can save my mom..."

My father turned to Luna and I. "Even though I haven't been with you two, I know that the two of you have grown strong. That being said, you can't let your guard down fighting against Victor. Go all out."

We nodded. I let the power pour into my body, setting my Limiter to its max level. My father smiled. "I see you've learned to use your ability..."

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I asked.

"I gave both you and Luna a part of my power to help protect you," he explained. "Though, you haven't seemed to learn how to use yours yet, Luna."

She bowed her head. "S-Sorry..."

He shook his head. "You'll learn eventually. Anyways, just don't let your guard down."

I nodded as he grouped up with mom and they prepared themselves, our mother transforming as Hikan had. They went to face Scarlet.

Hikan and Tolise took their positioning towards Fang.

The rest of us activated our abilities, making our way to face Victor.

Blue flames erupted from his body. "You all are fools! At least this way, I can take you all out here and destroy this wretched land!"

"No, we'll end this, you faker!" Neptune said, pointing her blades at him. "We were gonna fight you anyways! So, let's end this for love, justice, and other stuff!"

I could only shake my head. "Neptune, you tried too hard to make that work."

"Hey, get serious," Yami snapped at us, his cold aura coating him. "Right now, we have to take down Victor."

Shiri nodded. "Yeah. I'm just about done with this fake Ruler..."

"Fake?" Victor burst out, laughing. "I assure you I'm most definitely not a fake! If you want me to prove it, then fight me."

"We have to strategize," Brindle advised. "He knows all of our statistics. We have to think while we fight him."

Luna nodded. "I say we attack in groups, switching in and out."

"I was thinking the same thing," Yami said. "We should group by factions. While some are offensive, others will act as support."

"Alright," I took a step forward. "How about the Bladers go offensive with Researchers as the backup? You Sorcerers can act as support and protection. If it comes down to it, we'll switch out."

"Yeah, I think that might work, especially if we attack sporadically," Shiri said.

I took a stance, the other Bladers lining up beside me. "Then let's go. Neptune, stick with me."

"Yeah, I got it," Neptune nodded as she tightened the grip on her blades.

"Are you all done babbling yet?" Victor asked. "Because it doesn't matter! You'll all still die!"

*FSHH! *KRSH!*

The fire suddenly burst from Victor and swept towards us. A barricade made of earth shot from the floor, shielding the flames as ice fell and cooled the fire away.

As it disappeared, Brindle, Angel, Neptune, Noire, and I lunged towards Victor.

Several more blasts shot towards us, taking the form of dragons. As each of them was canceled by Yami's ice, we lunged towards Victor, coming at him from all angles.

*Boom!*

I was the first to reach him, bursting forward with speed and cutting at his flames.

Even though he didn't react, the flames turned to a pair of broadswords, using one to parry my strike and the other to guide Noire's rapier towards me.

Neptune suddenly warped in between us, using one of her blades to quickly avert Noire's weapon while her other sword aimed for Victor's neck.

He suddenly jerked his head back, a thin cut of blood forming at the side of his neck.

Just as his dual blades countered both Angel and Brindle's oncoming strike, his body burst into flames and blew us away. Managing to quickly regain my footing, I landed on my feet, jumping to catch Neptune.

As I did, everyone else landed to the floor.

*BOOM!*

Before Victor could reposition himself, Blanc appeared from behind him and slammed her ice hammer down. Just before the hammer smashed into Victor, dark energy formed between him and the hammer.

The hammer smashed into the dark energy, creating a shock wave at the force, shattering the glass of the BSA. However, the dark energy was still intact.

*Crash!*

The dark energy shot towards Blanc, blowing her away and crashing into the side of the walls.

*Clang!*

Just then, Victor was locked in by Vert's cage as she tied Noire's ribbon to her spear. However, Victor remained calm as thousands of spears appeared, each with Noire's long ribbon tied on.

The spears began speeding towards Victor, new ones materializing to take their place.

*Clang!* *Clink!*

As the spears entered through the gaps of the cage and thousands of blades materialized from each one, more dark energy appeared and shielded each spot that the weapons came at, blocking each one of them.

Victor remained calm as the dark energy continued to speed around the cage and block each and every single one of the constantly-multiplying weapons.

Victor let out a laugh. "I told you that this was pointless!"

*BOOM!*

While more and more weapons took aim on Victor, the dark energy suddenly exploded, destroying the cage and vaporizing all of the weapons.

Vert stood there, shocked. Taking advantage of her surprise, Victor quickly raised a hand and pulsed out dark energy. It slammed and smashed her into the wall.

*Crash!*

Plutia managed to speed to Victor, her whip blade coiling tightly around his body while Uzume lunged forward, orange energy coating her body.

The blue flames surrounding Victor turned to black flames, instantly burning the whip as he raised his hands and pulsed out energy, blowing them both away

*Boom!* *Crash!*

As they smashed into the wall, I lunged forward as the earth shot up and trapped Victor in a dome. Ice dragons and blasts of fire smashed and drove into the dome. Revealing him, he was still unscathed.

I lunged towards Victor and let the lightning run through my body.

*Crash!*

I faked a slashed before speeding behind him and kicking at his back. However, the dark energy still managed to match my speed, blocking my kick and blowing me away.

I pulled myself from the wall and did my best to catch my breath. Victor simply raised a hand and cast several balls of dark energy around him.

*BOOM!*

At the snap of his fingers, all of the balls of energy sped towards each of us, latching and locking us to the walls while it sucked away at our strength.

*Crack!*

"A-Agh!"

The freezing air around Yami managed to freeze his binding as he pulled himself free by breaking it. However, as he freed himself, another one suddenly snapped onto him.

Victor howled with laughter. "You brats really are gullible! If you really thought you had a shot against me, then you must all have shit for brains!"

"G-Gh!" No matter how hard we tried to break free of the binding, it just continued to sap away at our strength and dig deeper into our skin.

Even though we greatly outnumbered him, Victor had still managed to barely get hit.

His expression then turned dead serious as his eyes suddenly turned pitch black. "I've had enough of this. I'm going to end this right now."

He raised a hand, dark energy starting to gather there and forming a small sphere. He then tossed the sphere high into the air as it became still and hovered there.

A strong force began pulling on me, sucking me towards the black sphere.

Victor smiled. "That ball is like a black hole. If you touch it, you'll die. But, once it explodes, the black flames it creates will burn you instantly once it touches you."

At those last words, the pull of the gravity sphere increased, prying us from our bindings and slowly dragging us towards it.

I was unable to move due to how strong of a pull it was.

 _Damnit! What am I supposed to do?!_

 **"Let me take over you."**

 _What do you mean?_

 **"There's not much time. Let me take control of your body and I'll make sure Victor's loss is ensured."**

…

I knew I didn't have the time to be thinking about it, but it worried me.

At the same time, I didn't have any better options...

 _Alright, win this then._

 **"Thank you."**

I felt my body become heavy suddenly as a warm sensation began running through me. My eyelids became heavy as I lost consciousness.

* * *

 **[Third Person]**

Golden light cloaked Sigi as he drew closer and closer to Victor's gravity sphere.

Victor watched him, curious at the sight. "Oh?"

Suddenly, Sigi—bathed in golden light—stood up, seeming now unaffected by the gravity. He then formed a sword form thin air and slashed at full force at the gravity sphere. "GRAH!"

*BOOM!*

The sword managed to slice through the sphere, causing it to explode into black flames as Victor had said. However, before any of the flames managed to make contact with anyone, Sigi cast the entire arena in golden light.

Silver and Nepgear, who had just finished exchanging blows with Scarlet, turned to Sigi. Silver smiled. "Well, looks like he finally did it... I knew it was a good idea to give them those powers..."

As the bright and blinding light faded away, all of the black flames were gone. Sigi's golden figure slowly walked towards Victor—wearing a horrified expression.

"Y-You...!" Victor glared at Sigi. "W-What are you!? You're no boy!"

"You're right," Sigi said calmly, raising his blade. "I'm the one that'll end your life..."

"N-NO! STAY BACK!"

*SHK!*

As Sigi quickly slashed at Victor, his head was sliced off cleanly, blood beginning to spurt out as his body fell limp.

The golden light then disappeared from Sigi, revealing his body again. He then crumpled to the floor as the others hurried to him.

* * *

 **[Hikan]**

*Clang!*

Just as Tolise stumbled back, I stepped forward and slashed at Fang.

He managed to somehow recover from his position at rapid speed and counter my strike, knocking me back.

I managed to land back on my feet and group back up with Tolise. I let out a deep breath, taking a look at Victor—who was now headless with a body crumpled by his rolling head.

I grinned. "Well, those kids actually managed to pull it off..."

"Figures," Tolise said. "That man was cocky as all hell anyways. Plus, those kids are pretty strong."

"Yeah," I nodded and looked at him. "How should we handle Fang though? He's much stronger than the last time we fought him."

"No, he's just taking this seriously," Tolise remarked. "Which means we gotta do the same. This guy is after our blood after all."

"You're right," I bit my lip. "I don't wanna use this, but I might have to..."

Tolise formed a wide grin. "Do you mean...?"

I let out a sigh. "Yeah..."

"Here, I'll go first..." Tolise offered, letting out a deep breath.

The silver energy burst from his body, crackling with lightning as it turned to an armor. His katana became charged with silver lightning. Finally, he opened his eyes, which were now a crimson color.

He nodded to me. "Now it's your turn."

I let out a deep breath as he had done. "Yeah..."

Closing my eyes, I focused the flames in me, tapping into the deepest parts.

"…!" As I tapped into the fire's source, I felt the fire begin to swell in my body. I gritted my teeth as I felt it burning me alive, however, I still latched onto the power, pulling at it until I was able to access it.

Instantly, I felt all of the burning pain turn to power. So much energy and strength flowed into me that I could barely utter any words. "…!"

Tolise grinned. "Well, looks like you did it..."

I could only offer a nod. So much power ran through my body that keeping it stable was already a strain. Talking was out of the question. Now was one of those times where I wish I knew sign language.

"AHAHAHA!" We both turned back to Fang, who laughed like a maniac. "THIS IS GETTING SO EXCITING! SEEING YOU BOTH LIKE THIS MAKES ME CRAVE FOR YOUR BLOOD EVEN MORE NOW! COME! FACE ME AND LET ME DRINK YOUR DELICIOUS BLOOD!"

Tolise stepped up beside me. "We'll attack together, got it?"

Nodding, we both took stances.

*Bang!*

The two of us burst forward, attacking him from both sides.

*Boom!*

I managed to reach him first and grabbed him by his neck, slamming him into the floor. I picked him up and tossed him towards Tolise.

*Shk!*

He drove his blade into Fang and pinned him to the floor. Pulling his blade from Fang's body, Tolise kicked at his body, crashing him into a wall. Just before he pulled himself out, I blasted a wave of fire, scorching him while he screamed in pain.

Jumping away, I exchanged a look with Tolise. He nodded. "Yeah, I'm also wondering why he let himself get hit so easily..."

"HAHAHA! YES! THAT'S IT!" A crimson aura leaked from Fang's bloody and burnt body. He wore a devilish grin. "THIS IS IT! THIS WAS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR! NOW I CAN TASTE THAT DELICIOUS BLOOD OF YOURS!"

We both seemed to realize it at the same time. Tolise nodded. "He gets significantly stronger the more damage and blood he takes. That's why he wants our blood so badly."

*Crash!*

Fang suddenly appeared in front of us, grabbing us both by our heads with monstrous force and slamming the both of us into the wall. Without loosening his hold, he banged both of our skulls together and followed up by tossing us into the air, slashing at us.

All the pain hit us at once the moment his blade left gashes at our chests and we fell to the floor.

"AHAHAHA! YES! THIS IS THE FEELING I WAS WAITING FOR!" Fang howled with laughter as the crimson glow reappeared.

We both struggled to get back to our feet. Luckily, we were both able to heal almost instantaneously. Though, this was a pain that couldn't really be healed from. Not to mention that neither could heal much from our lack of energy.

Tolise gritted his teeth, looking over at me. "We've gotta end this, and I think you know what we've gotta do."

I gave a nod and let the flames course through my body. The fiery orange aura that surrounded me suddenly took the shape of a dragon, reaching high towards the ceiling.

Looking over at Tolise, his aura had transformed into a gigantic silver warrior, towering over Fang while it hovered in the air, gripping its large long sword.

"AHAHAHAHA!" However, Fang continued to laugh. "AT LAST! THIS HAS BEEN THE EXCITEMENT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR IN LIFE! IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I DIE! AS LONG AS I CAN FEEL THIS EXCITEMENT OF DEATH!"

We both nodded and charged at him.

*BOOM!* *CRASH!*

My dragon reached him first, slamming into his body and burning through his armor and skin. As I let the dragon's remaining strength infuse with Tolise's giant warrior, the warrior swung his sword down on Fang.

As his body was smashed into pieces, the blade slashed through the area behind Fang, creating a deep, fiery ravine.

The two of us then let our energy disappear as we stared at the remains of Fang. All that remained of him was his sword, his ashes beside it.

Without any more strength, I collapsed onto the floor. "I-I...haven't fought that hard...since I fought Silver..."

Tolise forced out his best laugh as he crashed down beside me. "H-Hey... At least we won..."

* * *

 **[Silver]**

*CRASH!*

Throwing Scarlet down, she crashed through the floor and fell into the Doll Room: the room where the Darkness of this dimension was being held.

We followed her down there. I turned back to Nepgear. "Hey, go check up on everyone and make sure they're alright. I can take it from here with Yami."

Nepgear stared at me with a concerned expression. "Silver, are you sure? What if you lose?"

I looked back at her and smiled, squeezing her hand. "I won't lose. I have you, Sigi, and Luna. I have a family and people I love to protect. I swore that I would always protect you, remember?"

At my words, Nepgear offered me a reassuring smile, letting out a giggle. "You really never change. But, that's what I like about you and you've yet to break your promises..."

I nodded. "I don't plan on breaking them either. Now, head up. I'll finish things here."

I felt Nepgear squeeze my hand even tighter. "Please, come back safely. We'll be waiting."

As she flew back up, my attention shifted to Scarlet. This was it.

She stared at me. "Tell me something. What keeps you so determined to protect these people, these people you "care" about?"

I let my Devils' power pulse through me. "Because, without any of them, I wouldn't have been able to have a family, survive the cruel world, or become who I am today: Silver Aurum. Not a cold-blooded killer, but a man who can love and change the fate of those around to something better. Because, without any of them, I wouldn't be standing here, trying to save you."

"You really are a fool..." Scarlet twisted her face into an expression of disgust. "You're just like everybody else, unaware that Darkness will one day consume them! You'll fall with them into the whirlpool of delusion!"

I chuckled as a smirk crossed my face. "Is that so? Funny, you're bringing back so many good memories..."

"Cherish them while you can," she said. "Because you'll forget them soon!"

I closed my eyes. "No, I won't. I'll keep them and create new ones."

 _Is it my turn yet?_

 _"Yeah, go wild."_

 _It's about time!_

I felt Yami's energy begin to coil around my body as my consciousness wavered. " _It's up to you to take her down..."_

 _Don't sweat it, boy. I can take her on._

 _"I hope so..."_

* * *

 **[Third Person]**

Silver's skin began burning off. The Darkness coiled Silver's body as he became cloaked in a black and crimson shroud. The Darkness wrapped his entire body, leaving him as a black figure with chilling, glowing blue eyes and shrouded in black and red.

Scarlet gritted her teeth. "N-No... Don't tell me that you're..."

A golden armor then wrapped over the pitch black figure and materialized a golden long sword in front of it, crackling with white lightning.

Glowing crimson markings wrapped around the black body and a fiery crimson aura radiated from it.

"Now I know who you are..." Scarlet snarled at the Silver that had consumed himself in Darkness, combined with the Light and his Devils. "You were the one who absorbed the Darkness of two of the dimensions we went to!"

 **"Well, aren't you a smart one?"** Yami chuckled. **"It took you long enough to figure it out! Now, as a reward, I'll end your life here! Maybe, I'll even absorb your power, too!"**

"That won't be happening!" She glared into Yami's hollow blue eyes. "I'm going to destroy you and this wretched dimension!"

Yami stepped forward. **"Try me. Give it all you've got, you fake."**

"H-Heh!" A wide, sinister grin crossed Scarlet's face. You really want me to do that!? Alright then! I'll make sure to tear you to shreds!"

*HSSSS!*

The Darkness that filled the Doll Room suddenly began to rise like sludge bubbles, floating in the air. Yami stared at them. **"Cool magic trick. Too bad this isn't a talent show..."**

Scarlet's laughter continued to rise. "You'll be wishing you never said those dumb comments when you see this!"

All the Darkness in the room culminated into a ball and sped towards Scarlet, swallowing her in it. "A-AGH!"

The Darkness wrapped around her figure while a crimson aura leaked from her. The Darkness then took the shape of her and faded away, revealing a new Scarlet.

Like before, her sclera's were now black with glowing crimson pupils. A crimson and black aura leaked from her body as black markings snaked onto her face. Her eyes, unlike before, now only showed blood lust.

She formed a blood red katana in her hands. "THIS IS WHERE I END YOU! I'LL DESTROY THIS WORLD!"

 **"Well, I'll give you some credit..."** Yami raised its blade at Scarlet. **"I didn't expect you to be able to absorb Darkness. Though, I wonder how long your body will last..."**

"I'll be able to end you before this body breaks!" Scarlet boasted.

*Bang!*

Scarlet burst forward, smashing Yami into the ground and bringing her blade down on it.

However, Yami rolled its head out of the way and let its body explode with energy, blowing Scarlet away.

*CRASH!*

Just as Scarlet was blown away, Yami shot out its hand, extending and grabbing Scarlet, smashing her into the wall. Before she could herself free, Yami sped towards her and stabbed its sword into her, letting the Light Sword pulse out its energy into Scarlet.

"A-AGGGGHH!"

The white lightning shocked through the Darkness in Scarlet.

*Shk!*

Just as Yami pulled out the blade, Scarlet grabbed Yami by its neck and threw him down into the ground. Before Yami could pull himself free, Scarlet lunged down and impaled her blade into Yami. However, Yami kicked Scarlet away before freeing the sword from its body.

"D-DAMN YOU!" Scarlet cursed out.

Scarlet's body burst into black flames, sweeping through the entire Doll Room and incinerating anything in there.

The flames crackled and slowly flickered until they burned away. Scarlet stood there, staring at the empty, burnt room. "H-Haha! AHAHAHA! I DID IT! YES! IT'S FINALLY DONE!"

 **"Oh, congratulations! What'd you finally do?"**

"G-Gh!" Scarlet spun her head around.

*BOOM!*

Just as she saw Yami's face. The Light Blade was stabbed through her and the Light shocked through the Darkness in her again, causing her to cry out in agonizing pain. Yami then pulled the blade from her body and kicked her away, crashing her into the wall.

"N-No... NO!" Scarlet freed herself from the wall, eyes glaring at Yami. Her body was now shaking violently. "NO! NO! NOOOO! I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU! I'LL DESTROY YOU AND THIS WORLD!"

 **"Heh!"** Yami chuckled. **"I doubt it! Have you seen yourself recently? Your body is already starting to become unstable! Slowly, your body's been breaking down and you haven't even noticed it yet! You're going to break the body of your vessel soon and then I'll be able to do as I please with you! What will you do now!?"**

 **"NOOOO! I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS! NO! NO! NOOOOO!"** The Darkness inside Scarlet cried out as she shot through the ceiling of the Doll Room and back up into the destroyed BSA room.

Yami tailed close behind, leaping back up into the room and landing on the floor, facing her.

Nepgear stared at Yami. "H-Hey, Yami. Don't kill her!"

 **"Relax. I haven't done anything to try to kill her...yet,"** Yami quickly shook its head. **"Just watch what happens... Green haired brat, you might want to pay attention, too."**

Shiri gave a timid nod. "Y-Yeah..."

Scarlet's body trembled more and more violently. Instead of her voice, the Darkness in her spoke, punching in the metal floor. **"No, no, noooooo! I won't accept this! I won't! I won't! I won't! I'LL DESTROY THIS DIMENSION! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS ENDING!"**

 **"Just give it up, you fool!"** Yami advised. **"You're dumber than the guy who absorbed me!"**

Scarlet's Darkness continued to cry out. **"NOOOOO! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS! YOU'LL ALL DIE HERE! ALL OF YOU IN THIS DIMENSION! YOU'LL ALL BURN AWAY FROM EXISTENCE!"**

The Darkness suddenly shot out and escaped from Scarlet's body, causing her to collapse to the floor. The Darkness, unlike Yami, was a red shroud. **"YOU'LL ALL DISAPPEAR!"**

The Red Darkness crashed through the ceiling, revealing the thundering, crimson skies. A gigantic sphere of crimson energy slowly formed above the Red Darkness. The world shook as the sphere grew larger and larger, looming over the entire Hades Academy.

 **"I WON'T ACCEPT THIS! I'LL DESTROY THIS DIMENSION! EVEN IF IT MEANS TAKING YOU OUT WITH ME! I'LL ERASE EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"**

 **"HA!"** Yami snorted. It's attention then turned to Shiri. **"Girl, come over here."**

Shiri stared at Yami, dumbfounded. "M-Me?"

As Yami nodded, Shiri nervously made her way towards it. **"Hold out your hands, cup them."**

Shiri did as it instructed and looked up at it. "O-Okay, now what?"

Yami gave a nod. **"This..."**

*BOOM!*

As Yami pulsed, golden energy erupted from Shiri's body and a golden beam of light shot towards the sky.

The beam of light then entered Shiri as her eyes began to glow golden and a fiery green aura seeped from her body, the nature's energy was pulled towards her, dancing around her aura.

"A-Ah..." Shiri could only stare at herself in amazement. "T-This feeling... It's like when I fought Kane... B-But it's stronger and I can control it... I-Is this what I think it is?"

Yami gave a nod. **"Damn right, squirt. That's your true Ruler form. After all, you were supposed to become the Ruler after your mom, and it runs in your family. If you really want to save her, then you're going to need to step up and take the responsibility."**

Shiri nodded firmly. "Yeah, I got it."

Yami the stepped back as Shiri stepped towards the blast. **"It's all on you now..."**

Shiri let out a deep breath and balled her hands into tight fists. She looked over at her mother, collapsed and helpless on the floor. "I'm sorry that I ran away from my responsibilities, mom. But now, I get it. I know what I've gotta do now!"

Her fiery aura burst and grew larger as she stared up at the Red Darkness. "I'm going to end this! For all of the people you've harmed! I'm going to protect the ones I love!"

The Red Darkness just continued to scream it's pained, echoed cries. **"I WON'T ACCEPT THIS ENDING! I WON'T LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU DISAPPEAR AND BE KNOWN AS A FAILURE TO YOUR FAMILY! DEATH TO ROUGE, DEATH TO ALL RULERS, DEATH TO THIS DIMENSION! I'LL ERASE EVERYTHING!"**

Shiri formed a small green ball of energy into her cupped hands, golden energy orbiting around it. She looked up at the sphere. "I _will_ win this!"

 **"JUST DIE AND DISAPPEAR!"**

Just as the gigantic ball of energy blasted down towards the world, Shiri launched her blast at it.

*BOOM!*

The two blasts collided, pushing against each other and fighting for dominance.

Shiri gritted her teeth, struggling to match the strength of the much larger sphere. "D-Damnit!"

 **"DISAPPEAR HERE WITH EVERYONE ELSE!"**

The Red Darkness pulsed out the last of its energy, causing the gigantic sphere of energy to completely overpower Shiri as it began making its way faster and faster towards the earth.

"G-Gh!" Shiri forced out as much energy as she could, tensing all the parts in her body. "N-NO! I WON'T LOSE! I HAVE PEOPLE TO PROTECT!"

"That's right, Shiri..."

"A-Ah..." Hearing an all-too-familiar voice, more and more power began to swell in Shiri. Tears began to flow from the corners of her eyes as she outputted all of her power. "I CAN DO IT!"

*BOOM!*

The pulse of extra power pressed back against the much larger blast. However, it was enough to push it back.

 **"N-No! NO! I CAN'T ACCEPT THIS ENDING! NOOOO!"**

The Red Darkness' blast began speeding back towards it. As the blast slammed into it, a shockwave was created, shattering and breaking many of Rouge's buildings.

The blast then exploded into a blinding white light as Shiri collapsed, energy draining from her body, and closed her eyes.

"…" Opening her eyes, she thought she was a child again, her mother running her fingers through her messy hair. Except, she knew this was no longer a dream. This was the reality that she had longed for ever since she had run away.

Her mother smiled warmly at her. "Rise and shine, Shiri. It's time to get up..."

Emotions welled up inside of Shiri. All she could do was throw her arms around her mother and sob into her chest. "M-Mom..."

"Yes, I'm finally home, dear," Scarlet placed a gentle kiss on Shiri's forehead. "Thank you for saving me..."

While the two of them shared their touching moment, Yami made its way across what was left of the ruined arena. At the edge was the last remaining shroud of the Red Darkness.

 **"Scarlet's purified of her Darkness. All that's left is you..."** Yami raised the Light Sword. **"Disappear..."**

*Sk!*

Using the Light Sword, Yami slashed at the last remaining wisp of the Red Darkness. It was then slashed through and bathed in the golden light, erased from the world and existence. Yami just let out a laugh. **"Well, I guess my work here is done. It was fun while it lasted. Better come back, Silver."**

And, at that, Yami allowed Silver to reclaim control of his body.

Silver, just now returning to consciousness, made his way over to Sigi, who was collapsed on the ground while Nepgear did her best to tend to his wounds.

Silver smiled and knelt down to him. "Good job on finishing Victor, I knew you had it in you. You really have grown strong. Maybe we should spar sometime..."

Sigi did his best to let out a laugh. "Sure. B-But can it wait? I don't think I'm in the condition for it..."

Silver smiled. "Of course. But, I'll be waiting."

Just then, the four faction leaders fell from the sky, landing in a pile. Sigi smiled. "I guess they're saved, too."

He looked over at the burnt ashes of Fang and the headless Victor. "They're dead, so there's nothing I can really do to help them. So, there's only one thing left to do."

Hikan stared up at him. "Are you really going to do that? In a way, it's like cheating fate."

Silver nodded. "Like I said, none of them deserve what happened. I'm doing it right now."

As he said that, his eyes began to glow gold and a golden light washed over the entirety of Rouge.

The golden light faded, and Silver let out a sigh, collapsing to the ground. "Man, I'll be sleeping in for days after that..."

Luna stared at him in puzzlement. "Dad, what did you do?"

Nepgear smiled at her. "You're about to see something wonderful..."

*Ring!*

Suddenly, both Vert and Noire's phones rang. They both answered them at the same time. Vert gasped. "R-Really?! You're not joking?! Oh, thank you so, so much! I'll be there as soon as I can!"

Sigi looked to Vert. "What's up?"

Tears began running down Vert's cheeks. "My mom! S-She... She woke up from her coma!"

"That's not all!" Noire said, wearing a wide grin. "All the children in the orphanages have been taken in by a wealthy family! All of them! Now, they can live happy lives!"

"REALLY!?" The group spun to see Jumon and Tsuki also in tears, talking to some projected man. "The debt is gone and so is the Organization!?"

"GROOOOAR!"

Brindle snapped her attention to the sky. "T-That roar... Is that...?"

Suddenly, a pair of dragons landed in front of Brindle. She burst into tears and hugged them both. "Mom! Dad!"

*Boom!*

The group looked over to see Plutia now had probably the world's largest stuffed animal in her possessions. "Yaaaaay...! My wish came true...!"

"Angel!"

"Uzume!"

"Blanc!"

Hearing their names, all three of them spun to the ruined entrance way. Running towards each of them were a pair of people, husband and wife. They threw their arms around them.

"Mom! Dad!"

Sigi and Luna watched as the three of them were reunited with their family. They both looked up at their father. "Dad, what did you do?"

Silver smiled. "Simple. I granted their deepest desires. Some had trivial wishes, others wanted to save someone or see something end, and most wanted to see their families. If you think about it, we're all pretty similar. Because we care about something and will work for it.

Sigi smiled. "Yeah, you're right..."

"But why didn't some people get their wishes granted?" Luna asked. "People like Yami."

"That's because their wish has already been granted," their father explained. "Either that or they've come to be satisfied with their life."

Tolise let out a sigh and got back to his feet. "Alright. Now that that's done, what do you say we get this mess cleaned up now and then we can celebrate later?"

"I like the sound of that," Hikan agreed. "We can throw a party late into the night."

Silver nodded as he embraced his wife. "Yeah. I think, after this, we can finally all live peaceful lives."

Sigi looked up at him. "Does that mean we can be a real family again?"

Nepgear and Silver exchanged looks before smiling at him. "What are you talking about? We always were a family. And always will be!"

"Yeah..." Sigi gave a nod as his attention turned to the sky that was slowly brightening.

Despite not having a full-fledged family during his life, Sigi still had managed to live a pretty comfortable and happy life. There were many like him anyways. But it was because he didn't have that something that he was able to become who he was today.

He thought about the various outcomes that could've resulted if even the slightest things had changed. In the end, he didn't regret anything that had happened in his life. Because, in the end, they had made him who he was today.

Sigi Aurum: the childhood friend and lover to Neptune. A member of a family that had been reunited.

He regretted none of the decisions in his life and was glad that life had turned out how it had.

As he continued thinking over it, Sigi collapsed to the ground, the bright sun rays bathing over him as he formed a smile.

"Thank you..."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, we've just about reached the end of the story. However, there's still one more chapter after this.  
The final chapter will be the Epilogue, which will be the final chapter and uploaded on Friday. When the Epilogue is uploaded, I will explain the future plans. But, until then, I'll see you all later!**


	40. Epilogue

**There's a poll on my page for what story I will write next. Whichever one ends up winning will be written right after the short OCs stories have been uploaded. If you care about what I'll write after the OC stories, then consider voting.**

* * *

 **[Epilogue]**

 **[Sigi]**

"Sigi! Hurry up! You walk so slow!"

While Neptune nagged at me, I smiled but continued to walk at my pace. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get there eventually."

She pouted and ran back to me, flicking my nose and pinching my cheeks. "WHY CAN'T YOU HURRY UP!? I WANNA BE ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO TRY THE FESTIVAL'S PUDDING!"

"Okay! Chill then!" I pried her hands off my cheeks. "But, listen. This festival isn't just to have fun. Remember, it was originally an event to honor the crowning of the new Ruler."

"Blah, blah!" Neptune stuck her tongue out at me. "Sigi, it's the last chapter! We've gotta make it fun! Explanations were in the past! I just wanna have fun now!"

I let out a sigh. "All I'm saying is that we came here to congratulate Shiri, not just try every food that smells good."

"Yeah, yeah! Now hurry up!" Neptune whined. "If you do, I'll give you a big hug and a pat on the pat!"

I shook my head. "I'll pick up the pace. Not because of your crappy offer, but because the sooner we get there, the sooner you'll stop whining."

"Mmgh..." Neptune cast me a glare and pouted. "Sigi, you're a terrible boyfriend!"

I shrugged. "What can I say? I've never been in a relationship before. Guess you have a poor taste in men."

Grinning, I looked back up at her. She looked like she was about to explode at any second, tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. "SIGI! HURRY UP ALREADY! PLEASE!"

She crumpled to the ground and burst into tears, right in the middle of the busy streets. "Sigi! Please!"

I let out a laugh and quickly made my way over to her. I tugged at her sleeve. "Alright! C'mon, let's go, Neptune."

While she sobbed and sobbed, I picked her up and carried her in my arms, making our way to the Meteor Gathering, the festival event where Shiri would be crowned the _real_ Third Ruler of Rouge.

* * *

"Bwaaaaah! Sigi's a meanie!" I had returned to Neptune, who was sitting on the bench that I had placed her on.

"Neptune, chill," I sat down beside her and offered her one of the pudding cups I had bought in an attempt to comfort her. "Here, you wanna pudding cup? I bought it from the festival."

Her sobbing hushed a bit as she peeked her eyes open and looked at the pudding cup. "…*Sniff*…. R-Really?"

I nodded. "Yup. It's all yours."

She used her sleeve to quickly wipe away her tears and snatched the pudding cup. As she ripped the seal off and began eating away at it, Neptune's saddened face was replaced by a happy and wide grin. "Thanks, Sigi! You're the best!"

I rolled my eyes. "Geez... You make such a fuss over everything..."

"Ehehe..." She let out a giggle, smiling at me. "Really, I do appreciate everything you do for me!"

She pecked at my cheek."Thanks..."

I let out a sigh. "It's no problem. Now, since you're done crying, how about we go enjoy the festival before the Meteor Gathering?"

Neptune nodded as she hopped up from the bench. "Yay! C'mon! I wanna play some games and try some foods!"

I smiled at her. "Yeah... Me, too..."

With Neptune in the lead, we made our way deep into the festival to enjoy ourselves.

* * *

*Bang!*

The cork popped from my gun and hit the giant cat plush in it's face. It fell off and Neptune and I exchanged high-fives. "Woo!"

The man at the stall sighed and handed me the cat plush. "Nice shot, kid."

I smiled at him. "Thanks!"

I then turned to Neptune, who was eyeing the cat in my hands with sparkling eyes. I offered it to her. "Here, Neptune. It's for you."

A faint blush crossed Neptune's face. "R-Really? Are you sure?"

I gave a nod. "Yup. That's whole reason I decided to play this game anyways."

Neptune let out a giggle and took the cat plush, rubbing her cheek against it. "It's so cute! But you would really have won me over if you had bought me a lifetime supply of pudding!"

I smiled. "How about I just buy you a few for now? That lifetime supply will come throughout your life, alright?"

Neptune shrugged. "As long as I get my pudding!"

I gave a nod. "Cool. Come on, we have just enough time before it's time for the ceremony."

"Then let's go!" Neptune whined. "I don't wanna miss Shiri becoming the Ruler!"

"H-Hey!" Before I could do anything, Neptune took me by the hand and pulled me along with her towards a nearby group of stalls.

She smiled as she pulled me along. "Come on! Let's hurry!"

* * *

 **[Luna]**

"Hey, mom," I pulled at her sleeve as we found a spot to sit at. "Do you know where Sigi is? He wasn't with us at breakfast..."

Mom smiled at me as she sat down, giggling. "I'm pretty sure he's off on a date with Neptune."

"Oh, yeah..." I smiled. "I completely forgot about that."

My father just let out a sigh and smiled. "Don't worry. The ceremony is about to start soon so he should be here soon. After all, he said that he didn't want to miss the ceremony for Shiri's crowning."

I frowned. "Yeah, but there are barely any spots left to sit at."

"But we made it, didn't we?"

I spun around, hearing my brother's voice. Sure enough, sitting right behind us were Neptune and Sigi. In Sigi's hand was a plastic bag filled with pudding. "When did you two get here?!"

Sigi smiled. "Just now. Neptune warped us here. Did we miss anything?"

Our father shook his head. "Nope. You got here just before it started."

Neptune grinned proudly and turned to Sigi. "See? Aren't you glad I'm with you? If not, we wouldn't have been able to make it in time to see Shiri become the new Ruler!"

My brother rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..."

Dad just smiled. "Sigi, she's got a point. The least you could do is thank her."

"What?! You're taking her side?!" Sigi stared at our dad like he just said the dumbest thing. "Come on!"

"Sigi, come on," our mother joined in. "Besides, it's the polite thing to do."

"Fine..." Sigi let out a sigh, placing a hand on Neptune's shoulder. "Thanks, Neptune. And sorry for not saying it sooner."

Neptune just smiled, kissing his cheek. "It's fine. But, you could learn a thing or two from your family."

"Please don't start this now..." Sigi begged. "Besides, I didn't exactly spend my entire life with them. If I had, then things might have ended up differently..."

"Oh, that's right," our mother spun to our dad. "Silver, do you know if sis is coming?"

"Hm?" He looked back at her. "I'm not sure... She said something about "punishing Tolise" for suddenly ditching her to help us when we fought Scarlet. So, I'm pretty sure neither of them are coming. As for Hikan, he's off enjoying time with Blanc and his daughter."

"Oh, that's right," I looked up at my parents. "When can we come to your dimension and see our home?"

They both smiled. "We were planning on taking you both after the festival ended."

"Really?!" I stared up at them with excited eyes.

They both nodded.

"Oh, it's starting," Sigi's attention snapped to the raised wooden platform acting as the stage.

Everyone in the crowd became silent as Scarlet made her way up the platform, Shiri following close behind her.

Scarlet cleared her throat. "People of Rouge, it's good to be back here. As you are all probably aware of, there was an incident that took place about a week ago that nearly destroyed us all. I'm sorry for that and I will admit that I was involved in that incident. I had been controlled by a certain entity and was unable to do anything. But, thanks to several individuals who helped to stop the destruction of our beloved city, the city, and this world, is now safe."

The people began to clap and cheer as Scarlet nodded.

She continued to speak as the people became quiet again. "Yes, I—the Second Ruler—am back. However, many of you know what this ceremony is for. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm stepping down. This is a generation past me and a Ruler fit for this generation needs to be crowned. I'm sure many of you know who it is. She is my daughter, Shiri Sensos."

More cheers came from the crowd as Shiri made her way forward. She did her best to smile at them

Scarlet silenced them once again. "She will be crowned as the real Third Ruler. After all, the role had been handed to Victor by the fake me. She, alongside many of her friends, have displayed the many qualities to being a Ruler as they stood brave to stop the entity that was threatening our world. With that being said, I will now crown her the Third Ruler."

The crowd became silent as a golden ball of energy leaked from Scarlet's body and became a ball of energy cupped in her hands. Scarlet then walked up to Shiri, smiling at her. "Shiri Sensos, do you agree to protect this nation with your life and take up the responsibilities as the Ruler of this world?"

Shiri returned her smile, nodding. "I do!"

"Then, you shall now become the Third Ruler," Scarlet said as she placed the ball of golden energy at Shiri's chest, entering into her.

A golden energy then cloaked Shiri as a fiery green aura flickered from her. It erupted and radiated from her body, just like before.

Scarlet nodded. "Congratulations, Shiri. You are now the Third Ruler of Rouge. Please, do your best to make this nation great."

We joined the crowd as they cheered and clapped for Shiri.

Shiri smiled. "Then, I'll do my first act as Ruler and split my power with four people. That way, there is more than one to help me keep Rouge safe and in peace if I were to fall."

Scarlet smiled. "I see... Then, who are these four that you wish to share your powers with?"

Shiri produced four golden balls of energy and nodded. "I choose Andy Hoshi, Jumon Million, Kane Shoulen and Deadeye Tsuki. For their acts of doing their best to protect us from the threat that had faced us. Even though they had failed to do so, they still all did their best and displayed the proper qualities of leaders."

The four of them then broke from the crowd and made their way up to the platform. Shiri smiled at them as they lined up. "You four, do you agree to take the same oath I had made as Ruler?"

The four of them all nodded firmly. "Yes."

"Then, do your best to help me protect Rouge," Shiri said as the power entered them.

Golden beams of light erupted from their body, shooting high into the starry night sky.

Scarlet smiled. "Then, it is done. The Third Ruler has been crowned and, with that, the old generation leaves and allows the new one to take the reigns!"

More cheers came from the crowd. I smiled up at Shiri. "I can't believe she did that..."

"She really is a smart girl..." Dad remarked. "I have a feeling that this world might soon become like our world, Nepgear."

Our mom nodded. "Yeah, maybe..."

I stared up at Shiri as the Meteor Gathering began, signaling the birth of a new Ruler. "Maybe things will be fine now..."

Sigi nodded. "We can only hope..."

"Yeah..." I stared up at the meteor shower.

* * *

 **[Sigi]**

There was no way we'd get to see Shiri today. She still had things to sign and take care of now that she was the Third Ruler. So, I sat atop a building with Neptune, our hands locked together as we dangled our feet from the edge.

I stared off into the distant, starry night sky. "So, everything's over. Shiri's been crowned Ruler and everyone's gotten their wishes granted."

"Mhm..." Neptune nodded as she turned to me. "So, Sigi. What do you want to do now? Your goal is accomplished."

I smiled as I turned to her. "I want to be with you, of course, and live happily by your side."

Neptune let out a giggle as we shared a kiss. "Maybe we can start a family, too."

I shrugged. "Maybe. But, I'm just glad that this whole mess is over. I guess all we can do now is continue our lives, together."

Neptune nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

I pulled her close and kissed her again, savoring the sensations that sparked in me before we pulled away. "Let's live a happy life, together."

Neptune let out a giggle. "You already said that!"

I chuckled. "I know. I just wanted to say it again."

"Am I interrupting something? Should I leave before things get too intimate?"

We both turned around. Leaning against a wall was my father, casting us a teasing smile. "Yo."

"Dad..." I broke from Neptune and walked up to him. "What are you doing here?"

He put his hands on his hips. "Well, your mother and I were getting ready to head back home and we were looking for you. Luna and your mother are waiting at the portal. What are you going to do?"

I thought for a moment, looking back at Neptune. "…"

Perhaps it was because I had spent so much time here or because I had once lived with my parents. But I knew what I wanted to do. I wasn't going to regret any decisions I made in life. Without them, I wouldn't be standing here.

I had said that I wanted to start a new life with Neptune and I meant that. Besides, I wasn't even from here.

"I'll come with you guys," I turned back to my father. "But is it alright if Neptune comes with me and I say bye to everyone here first?"

My father smiled, placing a hand on my head. "Yeah, that's fine. You know, you really remind me of my younger self..."

I smiled at him. "Thanks. But, I do have one request before we leave."

My father stared at me, curious. "Oh? And what's that?"

A wide grin spread onto my face. "Let's have that sparring match you promised me!"

Hearing those words, a grin came onto my father's face as well. "Man, you really are my son... Alright, let's have it right now. Don't hold back!"

"Alright!" We both hurried to a side of the building top. I let all of my power release from my body. "I'm going to win this!"

My father just smirked, his eyes turning crimson. "I never said I was going to take this easy on you. Sigi, come at me with everything you've got!"

Neptune stared at me worriedly. "Sigi! Come on!"

I ignored her as I drew my sword, letting the energy flow through it. "Let's do this!"

Neptune could only pout as she took a seat. "Fine! Whatever!"

My father smiled at me, unsheathing his katana. "I've been hoping for the day I could do this. Come, Sigi! Let us spar and show me how much you've really grown!"

I nodded. "Alright!"

"…"

The two of us took a stance.

I smiled.

Despite everything that had happened in my life, there had still been a good ending. Because I had believed and pushed myself to achieve my goals. It was because of that that I was able to reunite with my family and fall in love. It was because I had believed in myself.

*Bang!*

And I wasn't about to stop. I was going to continue living as Sigi Aurum, not pretending to be somebody I was not.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This is the end of this chapter and the story!  
Thanks to all of you who had decided to give this story a chance. Even though not many of you read it, I still enjoyed it.  
But with that out of the way, let me move onto future matters.  
The poll on my page about what stories I'll write will remain on my page until I have finished writing the three short OC stories, not uploading. That being said, I'll go back to writing each story before uploading them. Once I finish one story, I'll begin uploading it and writing the next and so on.**

 **But, until then, I'd like to thank all of you who had decided to read the story. Until the next story, I'll be going back to my average everyday life while I write. I can't promise exact dates on when the stories will be done, but I won't rush it so I don't screw up any details or half-effort it.**

 **Also, I don't think I'll ever do an M-rated story again. It's not really my style anyways. Maybe one day, but not for a LONG while.**

 **So until next time, I'd like to thank you all for reading and I'll hope to see you sometime in the future!**


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